Daylight Saving 2022: When Do Clocks Spring Forward In Alabama?

BIRMINGHAM, AL — In just a few weeks, Alabamians will have to adjust to daylight saving time, as clocks will move forward an hour.

Daylight saving time in Alabama begins at 2 a.m. March 13. You don't have to do much to prepare — just remember to set your clocks ahead by one hour before going to bed Saturday night if you have to — and of course, most phones and digital devices will automatically change time.

But many Alabamians have expressed the desire to keep daylight saving time year-round, as not all states in the U.S. observe the practice. Hawaii doesn't, nor do the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The time switch also passes without notice in Arizona, except in the Navajo Nation, which takes part in the biannual clock change to and from daylight saving time.

Federal law allows a state to exempt itself from observing daylight saving time, but does not allow the permanent observance of daylight saving time. Congress would have to pass a new federal law before any state legislation calling for that could go into effect.

Daylight saving time has been around since World War I. But it became the law of the land more than 50 years ago with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, though the exact dates — now the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November — have changed some over the years.

In Alabama, Rep. Wes Kitchens (R-Guntersville) introduced a bill during the 2020 legislative session that would allow Alabama to stay on daylight saving time year-round, which passed the house and was then sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Rusty Glover (R-Semmes) where it also passed.

However, the bill was never approved and would require a congressional action before being enacted. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined an effort Feb. 2 to make daylight saving time permanent across the country, becoming a cosponsor of the Sunshine Protection Act, originally introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), to further show support for modernizing the antiquated practice of adjusting daylight hours twice a year.

"Alabamians have made it clear that springing forward and falling back should be a thing of the past," Tuberville said. "Centuries ago, a time change might have made sense, but it doesn’t today. An additional hour of sunshine during cold winter months would be welcome news for folks on their way to work and kids on their way home from school. It just makes sense to pass the Sunshine Protection Act."