The Senate passed it once. The House never voted. The Sunshine Protection Act has not become law, and the Central zone still changes clocks twice a year: forward to CDT (UTC−5) on the second Sunday of March, back to CST (UTC−6) on the first Sunday of November.
Permanent DST would lock the Central zone on CDT year-round. No November fallback. Later winter sunsets. Darker winter mornings. Here is where the bill stands, what permanent daylight time would actually do at this longitude, and why Mexico’s 2022 decision is the closest real-world preview available.
How permanent CDT hits winter mornings across the Central zone
The trade-off is one hour. You take it from the morning and give it to the evening.
In the Central zone, the effect hits hardest at the western edge. The zone stretches from the Mississippi River to the Rockies, and the difference between an eastern-edge sunrise and a western-edge sunrise is roughly 45 minutes. Under permanent CDT, the western half of the zone would start January days in deep darkness. School start times, bus stops and morning commutes all shift into that dark window.
The eastern side of the zone gets off easier. The zone sits in the middle of the continent, so the morning penalty is less severe than in the Eastern or Mountain zones. But “less severe” is not the same as trivial.
The western Dakotas, western Nebraska, western Kansas and the Texas Panhandle would see the worst of it. Those areas already sit at the trailing edge of the zone. Morning routines that currently happen in half-light would happen in night.
What permanent CDT does to winter evenings
The upside is real. An extra hour of usable daylight after work and school.
For the southern half of the zone, the benefit is smaller because winter days are longer to begin with. Houston gains less than Minneapolis. Nice, but not transformative.
The biggest evening winners are the northern cities. That single hour reshapes the entire post-work window. Errands, exercise and outdoor time all become possible in daylight that currently happens in darkness.
The Sunshine Protection Act: where it stands
Senator Marco Rubio introduced the Sunshine Protection Act. The Senate passed it by unanimous consent on March 15, 2022. The House never brought it to a floor vote, and the 117th Congress ended with the bill dead.
Rubio reintroduced the bill in January 2023 and again in January 2025. The 2025 version has not passed the Senate and has not moved out of committee in the House. The 119th Congress ends in January 2027. If the bill does not pass both chambers before then, the process resets.
The bill’s mechanism is simple: it would amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to make daylight saving time the permanent standard nationwide. For the Central zone, that means permanent CDT at UTC−5.
Can states adopt permanent DST Central Time on their own?
Nineteen states have passed laws or resolutions supporting permanent DST. In the Central zone, that list includes Texas, Louisiana, Minnesota and Illinois.
None of those laws take effect without Congressional approval. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 gives states exactly two choices: observe standard time year-round, or follow the federal DST schedule. Arizona and Hawaii chose year-round standard time. No state may choose year-round DST on its own.
Texas passed a law in 2023 that would lock the state on permanent DST, but only if Congress grants permission. Louisiana, Minnesota and Illinois have similar contingent legislation. Until the Sunshine Protection Act passes both chambers, every one of those state laws is symbolic.
Why the House has not voted
The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent. That means no recorded vote, no roll call, no public record of who supported or opposed it. When the bill reached the House, members wanted to know where their colleagues stood. They never got a recorded vote, and the bill died in committee.
The lobbying landscape is fractured. The National Association of Convenience Stores opposes permanent DST because darker winter mornings reduce foot traffic. The National PTA supports it because more evening daylight means safer after-school activities. The airline industry is split. Some state governments want permanent standard time instead of permanent DST and refuse to compromise.
There is no consensus on the better outcome. Some Mountain West states would prefer permanent standard time because they already see late winter sunrises. The bill does not address that division, and the division is what keeps it stalled.
Permanent CST versus permanent CDT: the difference is the whole debate
The labels confuse people, and the confusion matters.
Permanent CST means the Central zone stays at UTC−6 all year. No clock changes. The zone keeps the “Standard” label permanently. In practice, permanent CST aligns with Mountain Daylight Time in summer and Central Standard Time in winter. This is what Mexico adopted in 2022. Saskatchewan has effectively done the same since 1966.
Permanent CDT means the Central zone stays at UTC−5 all year. No clock changes. The zone keeps the “Daylight” label permanently. In practice, permanent CDT aligns with Eastern Standard Time in winter and Central Daylight Time in summer. This is what the Sunshine Protection Act would create.
The difference is one hour. Permanent CST preserves winter mornings and gives up summer evenings. Permanent CDT sacrifices winter mornings and extends winter evenings. The entire policy fight reduces to that single hour.
Does Mexico’s permanent CST work for the Central Time zone?
Mexico abolished DST in October 2022. Most of the country, including Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puebla, now stays on CST (UTC−6) year-round. Border municipalities that follow U.S. DST are the exception.
Mexico City sits at 19.4°N latitude, deep in the tropics. On the December solstice, sunrise is 07:05 and sunset is 18:03. That is 10 hours 57 minutes of daylight. The sun is never far from the horizon at noon, and day length varies little across the year. Permanent standard time works at that latitude because the daylight is already concentrated in the middle of the day.
The U.S. Central zone is not Mexico City. It stretches from roughly 25°N at the Gulf of Mexico to 49°N at the Canadian border. Minneapolis and Mexico City share a time zone but not a solar reality. What works at 19°N does not automatically work at 45°N. Mexico’s experience is instructive, but it is not a direct parallel for Chicago or Winnipeg.
The case for permanent DST
More evening daylight means more time for recreation, retail and outdoor activity after work. Studies point to reduced traffic fatalities in evening hours, lower energy consumption for lighting and fewer pedestrian deaths after dark.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports it. Retail and hospitality industries see more evening foot traffic. Parents with school-age children get an extra hour of daylight for sports, errands and outdoor play.
The case against permanent DST
Darker winter mornings mean more accidents on the morning commute, particularly in northern states. School children wait for buses in darkness. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports permanent standard time, not permanent DST, because standard time aligns better with the human circadian rhythm. Morning light is the signal that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Delaying it by an hour for months at a time has measurable health consequences.
The western edges of time zones bear the worst of it. That is not hypothetical. It is the current reality for the western half of Texas, Kansas and Nebraska under standard time, shifted one hour later. Morning routines that are already dark become darker. The safety concern is not minor.
Will the Central zone actually go to permanent DST?
The Sunshine Protection Act is not dead, but it is not close to passing. The 2025 reintroduction has not moved past committee. There is no signal the House will take it up before the 119th Congress ends in January 2027.
For now, the Central zone stays on the seasonal schedule: CDT from the second Sunday of March through the first Sunday of November, CST the rest of the year. Mexico stays on permanent CST. Saskatchewan stays on permanent CST. The only path to permanent DST in the Central zone runs through Congress.
Who to pressure if you want this to pass
Your U.S. Representative, not your state legislator. State bills are contingent on federal permission that does not exist. The House is where this bill goes to pass or die. Call your representative and ask where they stand on the Sunshine Protection Act. That is the action that matters.
What to watch in the next Congress
If the bill fails to pass before January 2027, it must be reintroduced in the 120th Congress. The same divisions that stalled it in 2022 and 2025 will still be there. Watch for committee assignments in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where the bill sits. Watch for whether any Mountain West delegation members signal willingness to compromise. Without a deal that addresses the western-edge sunrise problem, the bill’s path stays blocked.
What changes immediately if it passes
The November clock change would be the last one. Clocks would spring forward one final time on the second Sunday of March and never fall back. The Central zone would operate on UTC−5 permanently. Airlines, broadcasters and financial markets would adjust schedules to the new permanent offset. The adjustment period would be measured in months, not weeks.