Minnesota is scheduled for the time change 2026 at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks go back one hour and return to standard time. Minnesotans in St. Cloud and across the state will get an extra hour if Congress does nothing before then.
The U.S. House approved legislation on July 14 to make daylight saving time permanent by a 308-117 vote. The bill was sent to the Senate the following day and referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
As of Sept. 10, the Senate had not scheduled a vote on the Sunshine Protection Act. The Senate was set to resume regular business on Sept. 14, and the first announced vote involved a federal judicial nomination rather than daylight saving time.
Sunshine Protection Act and Minnesota
Under the current schedule, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. Nov. 1 is the earliest date for the annual fall change, so Minnesota is on the verge of the switch unless the Senate acts first.
Permanent daylight saving time would keep clocks on the daylight saving schedule during winter. Sunrise and sunset would both occur one hour later than they would under standard time, and the change would shift daylight later in the day rather than create more daylight.
Hawaii and Arizona exceptions
Most Americans are scheduled to turn their clocks back one hour on Nov. 1. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year, so they do not take part in the same fall clock change that affects Minnesota.
For Minnesotans, that means the routine change is still scheduled to happen, but federal lawmakers could block it before November if the Senate takes up and passes the Sunshine Protection Act. Halloween falls the night before the switch, and the schedule would leave voters, workers, and families moving into standard time unless Congress changes course.
That is why the most immediate question is whether the Senate schedules and passes the Sunshine Protection Act before Nov. 1. If it does not, Minnesota turns its clocks back at 2 a.m. on Sunday and stays on the current federal pattern.
