US Daylight Saving Time Changed in 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed into law on August 8, 2005.
The Energy Policy Act changed DST dates.
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The Energy Policy Act extended the yearly Daylight Saving Time (DST) period in the United States by several weeks.
- The beginning of DST was moved from the first Sunday of April to the second Sunday of March.
- The end of DST was moved from the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday in November.
The law came into effect on March 1, 2007, and the new DST schedule was first applied on March 11 of the same year.
It only applies to the United States. However, some other locations (primarily provinces and territories of Canada) have made similar changes to extend DST.
The Amendment
Section 110 of the Uniform Time Act describes the changes about DST:
SEC. 110. DAYLIGHT SAVINGS.
(a) Amendment —Section 3(a) of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. 260a(a)) is amended;
(1) by striking “first Sunday of April” and inserting “second Sunday of March”; and
(2) by striking “last Sunday of October” and inserting “first Sunday of November”.(b) Effective Date.—Subsection (a) shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act or March 1, 2007, whichever is later.
(c) Report to Congress.—Not later than 9 months after the effective date stated in subsection (b), the Secretary shall report to Congress on the impact of this section on energy consumption in the United States.
(d) Right TO Revert.—Congress retains the right to revert the Daylight Saving Time back to the 2005 time schedules once the Department study is complete.
Universal Time Act After the Change
260a (a) of the Universal Time Act (Title 15, Chapter 6, Subchapter IX), which defines the period Daylight Saving Time is observed, is changed to the following:
260a. Advancement of time or changeover dates
(a) Duration of period; State exemption During the period commencing at 2 o’clock antemeridian on the second Sunday of March of each year and ending at 2 o’clock antemeridian on the first Sunday of November of each year, the standard time of each zone established by sections 261 to 264 of this title, as modified by section 265 of this title, shall be advanced one hour and such time as so advanced shall for the purposes of such sections 261 to 264, as so modified, be the standard time of such zone during such period; however,
(1) any State that lies entirely within one time zone may by law exempt itself from the provisions of this subsection providing for the advancement of time, but only if that law provides that the entire State (including all political subdivisions thereof) shall observe the standard time otherwise applicable during that period, and
(2) any State with parts thereof in more than one time zone may by law exempt either the entire State as provided in (1) or may exempt the entire area of the State lying within any time zone.