Salem residents could be done changing their clocks.

The U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday, July 14, voting 308-117 to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.

If the Senate follows and President Donald Trump signs the bill, Oregon's 2019 trigger law would move the state to year-round DST, ending the twice-yearly clock change that shifts Salem's sunrises and sunsets by an hour each spring and fall.

Oregon is one of 19 states that have already passed legislation to lock in permanent daylight saving time, pending federal approval.

The state's law, SB 320, signed in 2019, covers all of Oregon except Malheur County, which sits in the Mountain Time Zone.

There's a catch. SB 320 requires both California and Washington to also adopt permanent DST before Oregon's switch takes effect. Washington passed its own law in 2019, but California has not.

The federal bill, if enacted, could override those state-level conditions, though Oregon's legislature may still need to act to confirm the change. The trigger law expires Saturday, December 1, 2029, if the switch hasn't happened by then.

What permanent DST means for Salem

Under year-round daylight saving time, summer evenings would stay bright. Portland data — a close proxy for Salem, 47 miles south — shows the latest summer sunset would land around 9:04 p.m.

But winter mornings would get darker: the sun wouldn't rise until close to 9 a.m. in December and January, a concern critics have raised about children walking to school in the dark.

The Senate hurdle

The bill now moves to the Senate, where its path is uncertain. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, the bill's Senate sponsor, said after the House vote: "I'm glad President Trump is making this a priority. We have the momentum, now it's time to lock the clock."

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune is unlikely to override Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, who opposes permanent DST. Cotton is a member of Senate leadership.

The White House said in a statement that advisers would recommend Trump sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

A 2025 AP-NORC poll found 56% of U.S. adults prefer permanent daylight saving time.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, authored the House bill, which cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee 48-1 in May before passing the Rules Committee 6-4 on Monday, July 13. Twenty-two Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against final passage.

The Senate passed a similar bill unanimously in 2022, but that version died in the House. This time, the House acted first.

What happens next

No Senate vote has been scheduled. If the bill does not pass before Sunday, November 1, Salem residents will still set their clocks back on that date.

Oregon's congressional delegation has not issued public statements on the July 14 vote. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, co-sponsored a prior version and praised it in 2022.

Oregon's trigger law expires December 1, 2029. If neither Congress nor the state legislature acts before then, the clock-change question resets.