Nevada still observes Daylight Saving Time, and clocks will keep changing at least through the next two years. The most recent attempt to end the practice, Assembly Bill 81 (the “Lock the Clock Act”), passed the Nevada Assembly with bipartisan support in the 2025 session but died in the Senate without a vote.1KOLO. Lock the Clock Act Not Moving Forward in Nevada Legislature Because the legislature meets only every two years, the earliest a similar bill could be revived is the 84th session, which begins February 1, 2027.2Nevada Legislature. Events – Nevada Legislature
What Happened to the Lock the Clock Act
Assemblywoman Serena LaRue Hatch introduced AB81 during the 83rd legislative session with a straightforward goal: exempt Nevada from the federal Daylight Saving Time framework and keep the state on Pacific Standard Time year-round. The bill cleared the Assembly with bipartisan votes, which is uncommon for time-change proposals. Once it crossed to the Senate, though, it never received a committee vote, and it effectively died when the session adjourned on June 3, 2025.1KOLO. Lock the Clock Act Not Moving Forward in Nevada Legislature
What Nevada Can and Cannot Do Without Congress
A state can opt out of Daylight Saving Time and stay on standard time permanently, but it cannot adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time without an act of Congress. Under 15 U.S.C. § 260a, any state located entirely within one time zone can pass a law exempting itself from DST, as long as the whole state observes standard time during the months other states spring forward.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 260a – Advancement of Time or Changeover Dates The statute also blocks states from picking their own start and end dates or inventing custom time arrangements.4U.S. Government Publishing Office. 15 USC 260a – Advancement of Time or Changeover Dates
The U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees time zone observance, states plainly: “States do not have the authority to choose to be on permanent Daylight Saving Time.”5U.S. Department of Transportation. Uniform Time AB81 was written around that limitation. Rather than trying to lock in the summer clock, it would have locked in the winter clock by opting out of DST entirely, following the same path Arizona and Hawaii already took.6National Conference of State Legislatures. Daylight Saving Time – State Legislation
What Year-Round Standard Time Would Actually Look Like
If Nevada stopped observing DST and stayed on Pacific Standard Time all year, the change would be most noticeable in summer. From March through November, while the rest of the Pacific time zone springs forward, Nevada would stay put. A July sunset that now happens around 8:00 PM would instead land near 7:00 PM. Sunrises would come earlier too, closer to 5:00 AM than 6:00 AM.
Winters would look the same as they do now, because Nevada is already on Pacific Standard Time from November through March.
The state’s clock relationship with its neighbors would shift by season. In summer, Nevada would match Arizona (which also skips DST) but sit one hour behind California, Oregon, and Washington. In winter, Nevada would fall back in sync with the rest of the Pacific time zone.
The Federal Bill That Would Change Everything
Congress has been weighing the opposite approach. The Sunshine Protection Act, reintroduced in the 119th Congress as S.29 and H.R.139, would make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationwide. The Senate version went to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which held a meeting in April 2025, but the bill has not reached a floor vote.7Congress.gov. S.29 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) – Sunshine Protection Act of 2025
An earlier version passed the Senate unanimously in 2022 and then stalled in the House, and the same pattern has held since. If the current bill did pass, Nevada would stay on what is now called Pacific Daylight Time year-round, effectively matching Mountain Standard Time. December sunrises in Las Vegas would not arrive until close to 8:00 AM. Nineteen states have already passed conditional laws that would flip them to permanent DST the moment Congress acts.6National Conference of State Legislatures. Daylight Saving Time – State Legislation Nevada is not one of them, so even if Congress moved, the Nevada legislature would likely need to weigh in on how to respond.
When the Next Chance Comes
Nevada’s 84th legislative session begins February 1, 2027.2Nevada Legislature. Events – Nevada Legislature That is the earliest window for a new Lock the Clock bill or any alternative time-change proposal. The bipartisan Assembly support AB81 received suggests the idea still has room to move, but the Senate remains the obvious hurdle.
The 119th Congress runs through January 2027, and the Sunshine Protection Act sits in committee for now.7Congress.gov. S.29 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) – Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 If it passes, the DST question changes for every state at once. If it does not, Nevada’s only path to ending the twice-yearly clock change is opting out of DST on its own. Until either happens, Nevadans will keep springing forward and falling back.