Brains
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday to end the United States long practice of daylight saving time. If passed by the U.S. Senate, that would mean mornings during the winter start much darker than they do now. Sunrises in some places would begin after 8 a.m., with sunsets occurring after 5 p.m. This would give more sunlight hours during the day and could push the window for many ski resorts to stay open later during the ski season. The bill, the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla, would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the United States, resulting in later sunrises and sunsets year-round.
Hitting the slopes in the morning wouldn’t affect most people who aren’t looking for first chair. Many ski resorts open the slopes around 9 a.m., and the sun would be up at most of them in the continental United States by then. The most significant difference would be when the sun would set. Pushing sunsets back would add another hour of skiing and riding on the mountain, depending on where the ski resort is located, which could be beneficial to skiers, riders, and the ski resorts. More time on the slopes equals more money spent. Or does it?
If daylight saving time passes in the Senate, it will add additional expenses to ski resorts for employees like lifties, ski patrol, and other staff who need to be on the mountain during operations. The lifts, gondolas, and trams would also be running an extra hour a day, seven days a week, which would add to the overall expense of ski resorts. Could ski resorts financially sustain an extra hour a day of operating lifts and keeping staff on the clock throughout the whole ski season? One hour extra a day may seem like nothing, but to a ski resort that may employ hundreds of people, that adds up quickly. Ski patrol wages can range from $15 to $30 per hour, depending on the individual’s experience and the resort’s policies. Entry-level lift operators and ticket checkers can earn $12 to $20 an hour. A mid-sized resort’s labor costs can easily range from $2 million to $5 million per season.
Running all the lift systems on the mountain an extra hour a day will also increase the operational expenses of a ski resort. However, keeping daylight saving time permanent would not affect ski resorts that offer night skiing. In fact, it would save them one hour of turning on the lights, using energy, and would save them money. A ski resort can spend anywhere from $500,000 to $3 million annually on electricity.
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The United States previously tried year-round daylight saving time during the 1970s energy crisis, but the experiment was cut short amid public concern over dark mornings. The most common argument was children going to school in the dark and the dangers associated with that.
The summers in the United States would stay the same; however, the most noticeable effect would come between November and March. If the bill passes, the latest sunrise in New York City would be 8:20 a.m., and the earliest sunset would be 5:28 p.m. In Washington, D.C., wintertime would shift from Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) to Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). In the Midwest and South, wintertime would move from Central Standard Time, or UTC-6, to Central Daylight Time, or UTC-5. In Denver and Salt Lake City, it would move from Mountain Standard Time, or UTC-7, to Mountain Daylight Time, or UTC-6.
In Los Angeles, Seattle, and most of the West Coast, it would move from Pacific Standard Time, or UTC-8, to Pacific Daylight Time, or UTC-7. Most states would be one hour later in winter than they are under the current standard time. Seattle’s December 1 sunrise would be 8:38 a.m.
The final vote on the Sunshine Protection Act in the House of Representatives was 308 to 117. 19 states, including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, have already passed legislation or resolutions to enact year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law permits it. Separately, current federal law allows states to opt out of daylight saving time altogether and remain on standard time year-round, but it does not allow states to unilaterally adopt permanent daylight saving time without an act of Congress.
The bill to end daylight saving time still has opposition from both sides of the government. 22 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against the bill, even as the Trump administration put out a Statement of Administrative Policy encouraging its enactment. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is unlikely to override Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a member of leadership who has long been opposed to making daylight saving time permanent. In 2025, Thune opposed a version of the House bill when it was marked up by the Senate Commerce Committee.
Unless the bill passes in the Senate and is signed by the President, Americans in most states should still plan to turn their clocks back one hour on Nov. 1, 2026. For those skiers and riders who aren’t early birds and like waking up later to hit the slopes, this bill might give you an extra hour on the slopes this season. If this sounds like something you’d be excited for, let us know in the comments!
They voted to go to permanent daylight savings time, not to end it
ummm… no talk of the potential of delayed am openings? Yes you could stay open later, but conversely it would be darker later as well, making it harder for patrol and everyone to get everything cleared in the am unless they work with headlamps- meaning they’ll likely have to open later. For someone who likes to sneak up in the am for a couple hours before work, pushing openings to 9:30 or even later, is the major downside I see.