Discover the Two States That Refuse to Follow Daylight Saving Time

The commencement of daylight saving time in the United States will take place on Sunday, March 12 and its conclusion will be on Sunday, Nov. 5. This time shift can cause Americans to feel groggy and irked due to the hour of lost sleep. Some curiosity may arise among individuals questioning what life would look like without daylight saving time as they graciously adjust to this time change. However, there is a selective group of people undisturbed by this time shift, as not all states observe daylight saving time.

Which states don’t observe daylight saving time?

Two states, Hawaii and Arizona, do not participate in daylight saving time. In 1966, the United States approved this time shift as part of the Uniform Time Act, which replaced the previous inconsistent practice of states creating their own versions of this policy. Prior to this act, Iowa enacted 23 different pairs of start and end dates for daylight saving time. However, the Uniform Time Act did not mandate every state to comply with this policy. Hence, Hawaii and Arizona eventually chose to opt-out.

Why did Hawaii and Arizona choose not to participate in daylight saving time?

In 1967, Hawaii terminated their participation in daylight saving time because this time shift contradicted their natural daylight cycles. Daylight saving time is meant to grant additional hours of daylight in the evening, but in Hawaii, the sun already rises and sets at similar timings daily. Thus, the Whole Earth Catalog highlights this policy to be irrelevant.

Following Hawaii's decision, Arizona made a similar call the following year. This decision concurred with Arizona's abundant natural sunlight throughout the year. Refraining from setting the clocks forward yields lower temperatures during daytime, which was preferable for the state. Nonetheless, this practice is not universally followed throughout Arizona, as the Navajo Nation in northeastern part of the state does maintain daylight saving time to create a consistent time zone with areas in New Mexico and Utah. Additionally, a few U.S. territories such as the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Marina Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam also abstain from daylight saving time.

Several states are currently drafting bills to adopt daylight saving time permanently or to ultimately eliminate the practice. As of early March 2023, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which aims to make daylight saving time a consistent policy nationwide, thereby obviating switching clocks twice a year. Although this bill was passed in the Senate in 2022, the House failed to vote on it.

Consequently, most of the United States has to comply with the clock changes twice a year, and it is reasonable to feel irked when daylight saving time commences in March. However, adjusting one's body to this time shift can be painless.

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