Indiana clocks divided across state counties

Daylight saving time is sponsored by 47 states across the country, but Indiana is one of three states that does not fast forward and rewind the clock once a year. \nThe Indiana legislature has debated the issue of DST for about four decades, and now newly instated Gov. Mitch Daniels, much like Benjamin Franklin in 1784, wants the issue resolved.\nBeginning with Franklin's letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris, in which Franklin calculated the city's potential savings from manipulating time, the notion of tinkering with a clock's hands to determine when work should be done was introduced. Railroads standardized time -- in the form of national time "zones" -- to help ensure timely train schedules at the end of the 19th Century. Beginning with America's participation in World War I and World War II, the idea of DST was welcomed because of the perceived fuel savings: hundreds of thousands of oil barrels every month. \nThe Uniform Time Act of 1966 recognized the so-called fuel savings and implemented the DST period as the last Sunday of April to the last Sunday in October. Federal legislation in 1988 said DST begins at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April and ends at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October. Residents in DST-participating states must move their clock hands one hour forward in April and one hour back in October. \n"I am not aware of a study that has systematically measured the effects of DST or not," said Jerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center. "(Mitch) Daniels made it a pretty high profile talk when he moved into the governor's office. Personally, I think why not deal with it, get it over it, and deal with something else."\nNearly 80 counties in Indiana are in the Eastern Time Zone, 10 counties are in the Central and Central Daylight Time Zones, and the rest are in both Eastern Standard and Daylight Time Zones. \n"I think a lot of people would like to have the whole state on (DST)," said Mark Lawrence, vice president of corporate development for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. "I think when you look at Indiana, 84 percent of Indiana's international export dollars goes to countries who have DST; the vast majority of domestic trading partner states follow DST." \nLawrence said the ICC receives many cases of time inconveniences for Indiana businesses, such as missed meetings, hectic scheduling of conference calls and problematic flight schedules. He said some state businesses often incur extra expenses related to DST inconveniences because nationwide distribution systems, such as airline and trucking industries, often require time-sensitive transactions.\nBob Kraft, director of state government relations for the Indiana Farm Bureau, said farmers are not a separate segment of society. \n"I think we put a face on an attitude that is much bigger than our grassroots opposition -- it is much more comprehensive than the Farm Bureau," Kraft said. "Two to 2 1/2 of Indiana residents are engaged in farming on an individual basis. ... If you get out of the board rooms and into the grass roots of America, the enthusiasm for DST is reduced considerably."\nKraft said Indiana's refusal to participate in DST allows Hoosier farmers more time to participate in early-evening community activities such as church services, civic duties and watching the kids' ball games because they wouldn't have to give up production time in the fields. He said traditional agriculture in Indiana is more associated with the Chicago market than the New York market, since the state is "geographically" located in the CST zone despite the Department of Transportation's "edict," which places Hoosiers in the EST zone.\nConover said freight transportation, customer service/support businesses and the travel industry are often the most negatively affected by Indiana's denial of DST. He said business interactions with national companies seem to suffer from DST-related costs more than international business transactions with Indiana companies. Conover said any business that sends or receives goods, or any business that has to meet a client on their time table, is affected by Indiana's decision to abide by or refuse to participate with DST.\n"It's more difficult to get business transactions carried out when both players are not in the same time zone, even an hour apart," Conover said. "(DST) is basically a convenience issue, but inconvenience costs money -- it may impose a real cost on operation. (The business) or their industry must pay money due to (Indiana's) lack of adaptation of DST."\nLawrence said Indiana's refusal to submit to DST is similar to the inventory tax imposed on Hoosier businesses several years ago. He said the state's lack of DST participation is "an unnecessary abnormality of Indiana" because the potential to attract business is crucial for the state economy. \n"I think (DST) is an issue that many legislatures are very sensitive about because they hear about it from their constituents," Lawrence said. "What we would like to see is (Hoosiers) on the same time as everybody who recognizes DST -- we have three time zones in Indiana." \nKraft said Indiana is already observing "double-daylight savings" because the state follows EST.\n"The real defining issue is we are different in Indiana, and we are proud of it; (the DST issue) is something unique -- it distinguishes us from our neighboring states," Kraft said. "Indiana is always going to be on the borderline of DST."\n-- Contact City & State Editor David A. Nosko at dnosko@indiana.edu.