Washington still switching clocks as B.C. moves on
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Here we go again. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Daylight saving time returns Sunday, and once again Washingtonians will spring forward — even though the state voted six years ago to stop the clock changes for good.
Why it matters: Congress never approved the change, leaving Washington in a twice-a-year time shift even as neighboring British Columbia announced this week that it's moving to permanent daylight saving time.
Catch up quick: State lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill in 2019 to adopt permanent daylight saving time. But Congress never acted, leaving Washington stuck in the twice-a-year time warp.
- At the time, momentum felt unstoppable.
- Then-state Rep. Marcus Riccelli told Axios he had never seen as much bipartisan support for a bill. Other West Coast states were on board. Canada appeared aligned. The Sunshine Protection Act even passed the U.S. Senate in 2022 before stalling in the House.
What happened: The federal push fizzled. And the debate over whether standard time or saving time is preferable grew louder.
- While most people dislike switching clocks, sleep experts increasingly argue permanent standard time — not daylight saving time — better aligns with our bodies' natural rhythms.
- University of Washington biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia has warned that year-round daylight saving time "would be like Monday morning every day," especially during dark winter months.
Zoom out: Governments have tried permanent daylight saving time before.
- The U.S. experimented during the 1973–75 oil embargo but reversed course within a year.
- The United Kingdom tried it from 1968 to 1971.
- Russia adopted permanent daylight saving time in 2011, then switched to permanent standard time in 2014.
Just across the border in British Columbia — where residents are expecting to set their clocks forward just one last time this month — could become the next real-world test case.
The bottom line: Meanwhile, Washington keeps changing the clocks.