Tennessee's new law mandating statewide observance of Daylight Saving Time year-round is in the books. State legislators passed the bill and Governor Bill Lee signed it into law in May.
That means no more falling back, right? Nope!
It's a bit complicated. Come Sunday, November 3 at 2 a.m. -- Tennesseans will still need to set their clocks back an hour like normal.
Even though Tennessee's new law said it will scrap the twice-annual time shift — the state isn't the only one who would be affected by the change. Interstate commerce would have to adapt, so it is also a federal matter and the law currently isn't doing anything outside showing support for making the change.
U.S. Congress must next pass a federal law to amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to exempt states so they can individually observe daylight saving time year-round. Once that happens, Tennessee and other states like Florida that have approved similar legislation are free to make the change final.
Other states have considered similar conditional legislation. President Donald Trump also said he likes the idea of permanent daylight saving nationwide.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio introduced legislation this session called the 'Sunshine Protection Act of 2019' that would do just that. The bill has been sitting in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee since March.
Interestingly, the Uniform Time Act allows states to stay on Standard Time -- but not Daylight Saving Time. That is how states like most of Arizona and Hawaii have been able to avoid jumping back and forth an hour every year.