The very simple reason why California doesn’t currently do permanent daylight saving time (DST), along with Hawaii, boils down to federal law and state action limitations.
Key Reasons:
California Voters’ Decision (2018)
In 2018, California voters approved Proposition 7, which authorized the state legislature to change DST laws and potentially adopt permanent DST. However, this did not immediately eliminate the time changes or permanently establish DST year-round. Instead, it granted the legislature the power to act if Congress authorized such a change.
Federal Law Restriction
Current federal regulations, established by the Uniform Time Act, allow states to opt out of DST entirely but do not permit states to unilaterally adopt permanent daylight saving time year-round. For California to switch to permanent DST, it requires explicit approval by the U.S. Congress.
States That Don’t Observe DST
Only Arizona (except Navajo Nation) and Hawaii have opted out of DST, choosing to remain on standard time all year. They do so due to geographic and climatic reasons—Hawaii’s proximity to the equator means little variation in daylight across seasons, and Arizona’s desert heat makes later daylight hours less desirable.
In short, California’s permanent DST shift is stalled because while voters gave the green light, federal law currently prevents the state from making the change without Congress’ authorization. Hawaii, along with Arizona, is an exception that opted out under the federal act to stay on standard time all year.
Thus, California (and Hawaii) don’t follow the biannual time changes, but for different reasons: California is still waiting for federal approval to go permanent DST, while Hawaii simply chose to remain on standard time throughout the year.
SOURCES
[1](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/us/california-daylight-saving-time.html)
[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-without-daylight-saving-time/)
[3](https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/why-do-these-two-american-states-skip-daylight-saving-heres-the-exact-reasons-101741556393362.html)
[4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_in_the_United_States)
[5](https://calmatters.org/politics/capitol/2024/03/daylight-savings-time-california/)
