Texas lawmakers file bills looking to make Daylight Saving Time year-round

Tuesday was the first day that bills could be pre-filed for Texas' 89th Legislative Session.

Hundreds of bills were filed over everything from abortion to schools to immigration and even our clocks.

Multiple bills and joint resolutions were filed to make daylight saving time permanent year-round. 

House Bill 744 from State Rep. John Bucy (D-Cedar Park), House Bill 788 from State Rep. Mike Schofield (R-Katy) and Senate Bill 64 State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) are among the bills to address the time change.

Zaffirini's bill would allow Texas voters to decide on the issue.

The bills say the change would apply to both the portion of the state in Central Standard Time and the portion using Mountain Standard Time.

In 2023, the Texas House overwhelmingly voted to stay on daylight saving time moving forward.

The bill never went up for a vote in the Senate.

((Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images))

Even if the bill passes the Texas Legislature and is signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, Congress would still have to sign off.

Federal law allows states to exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time, if they pass state laws to do so, but to permanently observe daylight saving time, as the bills propose, is a different matter.

Congress must pass a law to grant states the ability to observe daylight saving time year-round.

Efforts in Congress to pass such a bill have failed.

The regular session of Texas' 89th Legislature is scheduled to begin on January 14, 2025 and end on June 2, 2025.