Daylight Saving Time Happens March 10, 2024; CA Bill Aims To Dump DST

CALIFORNIA — Another "don't forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour" happens this weekend, and so do the questions: "Didn't California vote on this whole time-change thing? Why are we doing this?"

Clocks will "spring forward" one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10. Love it, hate it, or don't care, daylight saving time is happening.

Yes, California did vote to make daylight saving time year-round. The 2018 statewide measure known as Proposition 7 passed with 59.75% of ballots cast voting in favor.

The trouble is that the nation's Uniform Time Act of 1966 provides that Congress and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation have jurisdiction over time-zone boundaries. Under the act, states can opt out of observing daylight saving time—like Hawaii and most of Arizona—but they can't decide to be on it permanently without federal approval.

Despite what Californians voted for, nothing's happened at the federal level. In fact, in 2022 the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act that would have made daylight saving time permanent. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) reintroduced the legislation last year. No version of the bill, however, has passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

If you're in the "please ditch the switch" camp, there is another remote hope in California. Last month, California state Sen. Roger Niello (R-Sacramento) introduced a bill that aims to change the "spring ahead" routine. State Senate Bill 1413 calls for the elimination of biannual time changes and year-round standard time in California as is allowed under federal law.

The bill currently sits in the state Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications.

Californians who suffer sleep deprivation under daylight saving time would welcome a "ditch the switch" law, and they have support. The American Medical Association has given a thumbs-up to year-round standard time.

"Eliminating the time changes in March and November would be a welcome change. But research shows permanent daylight saving time overlooks potential health risks that can be avoided by establishing permanent standard time instead," AMA Trustee Dr. Alexander Ding said in a March 5 report posted to the organization's website. "Sleep experts are alarmed. Issues other than patient health are driving this debate. It’s time that we wake up to the health implications of clock setting.

"For far too long, we’ve changed our clocks in pursuit of daylight, while incurring public health and safety risks in the process," Ding continued. "Committing to standard time has health benefits and allows us to end the biannual tug of war between our biological and alarm clocks."

In the meantime, get ready for the tug of war.

Sunday, March 10 sunset:

• 7:13 p.m. San Francisco
• 6:58 p.m. Los Angeles
• 6:55 p.m. Riverside
• 6:56 p.m. Laguna Beach
• 6:54 p.m. San Diego

Monday, March 11 sunrise:

• 7:24 a.m. San Francisco
• 7:06 a.m. Los Angeles
• 7:02 a.m. Riverside
• 7:04 a.m. Laguna Beach
• 7:01 a.m. San Diego