As a bill which includes a provision to move the country to permanent daylight saving time (DST) is gaining traction in Congress, Tennessee and 18 other states stand ready to immediately lock their clocks, already having passed legislation which will trigger year-round DST should Congress approve it.
In 2019, the Tennessee General Assembly passed SB1100 which declares the state will observe daylight saving time year-round, contingent upon three actions. First, Congress must amend or repeal federal statutes mandating the time change. States may currently opt to observe standard time year-round, as Hawaii and most of Arizona do, but cannot do the opposite without congressional approval.
Second, the commissioner of transportation must certify in writing the congressional action to the Tennessee Speakers of the House and Senate, and finally the General Assembly must pass a joint resolution confirming the act of Congress and authorizing the state’s implementation of permanent DST.
The DST observation will begin the first Sunday of November following the actions above, according to the law.
