The legislation still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND).

If signed into law, residents would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. The legislation would have no effect on how time zones operate.

The bill has garnered mixed reactions. Proponents say it will protect people’s sleep hygiene and end disruptions caused by springing ahead or back an hour in time.

Proponents, including Republican state Rep. Desiree Morton, also say that the bill would benefit construction workers in the winter months by giving them an extra hour of daylight to work in the morning. This would improve safety conditions so that construction workers would not have to work in the dark.

However, Republican state Rep. Mike Schatz, who initially supported the bill but voted against it, said it would take away an hour of light for farmers in the summer.

“What they said was ‘The sun will go down out west at 8 o’clock (p.m.),’” Schatz said during Tuesday’s session. “Then it’s going to come up earlier, and it’s going to be harder for him, as a farmer, to get his people to come to work at 6 o’clock (a.m.) rather than 7 o’clock … so I’m going to vote no.”

If the legislation is passed, North Dakota would join just two other states, Arizona and Hawaii, that do not participate in daylight saving time.

President Donald Trump has vowed to end daylight saving time nationwide, calling the practice “inconvenient.”

“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t,” Trump said in a Dec. 13, 2024, Truth Social post. “Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.”