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Tennessee will still "fall back" when daylight saving time ends on Sunday, despite state law

Come Sunday, November 1 at 2 a.m. -- Tennesseans will still need to set their clocks back an hour like normal.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Another fall, another year of rolling back the clocks an hour. If you were wondering: Yes, Tennessee still has to say goodbye to Daylight Saving Time again even though our state has a law that says otherwise.

Tennessee's law mandating statewide observance of Daylight Saving Time year-round has been in the books for more than a year, but this law is going to continue to mean little until the United States government gets onboard with the plan.

It's a bit complicated. 

Come Sunday, November 1 at 2 a.m. -- Tennesseans will still need to set their clocks back an hour like normal.

Even though Tennessee's law said it will scrap the twice-annual time shift — the state isn't the only one who would be affected by the change. It's ultimately a federal matter when interstate commerce is affected, and the state law currently isn't doing anything outside showing support for making the change.

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Some other states like Florida have signed similar laws, but are in the same position.

In order for it to become a reality, U.S. Congress must pass a federal law to amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to exempt states so they can individually observe daylight saving time year-round. Once that happens, Tennessee and other states like Florida are free to make the change final.

Florida congressmen introduced a bill in 2019 called the "Sunshine Protection Act" that, if passed, would move the entire country to year-round daylight saving time.

Interestingly, the Uniform Time Act allows states to stay on Standard Time -- but not Daylight Saving Time. That is how states like most of Arizona and Hawaii have been able to avoid jumping back and forth an hour every year.

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