In 2019, Washington's Legislature said yes to ending the clock change. The House voted 90 to 6. The Senate voted 46 to 2. Gov. Inslee signed it into law as Chapter 297, Substitute House Bill 1196, sponsored by then-Rep. Marcus Riccelli. There was one catch: the law doesn't take effect until Congress authorizes states to observe permanent daylight time. Seven years later, we're still waiting.
Congress has had two chances, and hasn't come through
The first attempt was in 2022. The Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent. It went to the House. The House never voted on it. That's where it stalled. Several senators later said they would have objected had they realized it could actually pass.
The second attempt is happening right now. On July 14, 2026, the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, 308 to 117, the mirror image of 2022. It went to the Senate. The Senate left for August recess without taking it up. Its own version, S. 29, has sat in the Commerce Committee since January 2025 without a committee vote. It isn't dead, but it may be stalling the same way the last attempt did in the other chamber. The jury's still out.
Washington doesn't have to keep waiting
Federal law already lets any state adopt permanent standard time on its own, no act of Congress required. Arizona and Hawaii have done it for decades. Washington could stop changing its clocks now, using authority it already has, with an automatic bridge built in to permanent daylight time for whenever Congress finally acts.
Our own Legislature has actually tried this. Four times.
2022: SB 5511, Sen. Jim Honeyford. Year-round Pacific Standard Time, expiring the moment Congress authorizes permanent daylight time. Stalled in committee.
2024: SB 5795, Sen. Mike Padden. Same structure. Thirteen bipartisan sponsors, testimony from the Association of Washington Business and UW circadian biologist Horacio de la Iglesia. Scheduled for a vote in Senate State Government & Elections. Pulled before the policy cutoff.
2025: SB 5001, Sens. Jeff Wilson and Manka Dhingra. Amended the 2019 law directly instead of replacing it. Same federal contingency. Stalled in committee.
2026: HB 2119, Reps. Dufault, Marshall, Dye, Griffey, and Bernbaum. Same idea, carried to the House side this time. Still stalled.
Both chambers. Both parties. Four bills. Not one has reached a floor vote.
This has never been a persuasion problem. Legislators who've looked at it tend to agree with the fix, they voted for it 90 to 6 in 2019. What's missing is follow through: a sponsor willing to carry it through committee and a chair willing to give it a vote.
Time to take it into our own hands
The Last Fall Back Act does what Washington can do on its own: permanent standard time now, with an automatic transition to permanent daylight time the moment Congress delivers. And a citizens' initiative stands behind it. If the Legislature won't schedule a vote in 2027, we file an Initiative to the Legislature to put the same question in front of the legislature and the voters in 2028.
Three things you can do to help
First, ask your own legislators to sponsor the Last Fall Back Act in the 2027 session. Given the last four bills stalled from lack of scheduling rather than lack of support, "please make sure this gets a vote" is a more useful message than "please support this." Find your legislators and a ready-to-send message at lastfallback.org/take-action, or look them up directly at the Washington State District Finder.
Second, add your name at lastfallback.org/#signup. This isn't a petition and it doesn't commit you to anything yet. We will let you know when hearings are scheduled so you can file comments. If the Legislature stalls a fifth time, we're taking this straight to voters, and will let you know to sign or volunteer to gather signatures.
Third, spread the word. Share this with others who are tired of the clock change too. Post it in a local group, forward it, mention it at dinner. This campaign has no paid staff and no ad budget; growth here comes from people telling other people, not from us.
We prefer the Legislature do this in 2027. If they don't, we'll file a Citizens' Initiative and put it back in front of them and the voters in 2028.