Time in Indiana
Time in Indiana refers to the controversial time zone division of Indiana, and to the state's historical response to the innovation of Daylight saving time. The official dividing line between Eastern Time and Central Time divides Indiana down the middle.
History
1918-1967
From 1918, when the Act of March 19, 1918 passed, establishing legal time zones in the United States, until 1961, the dividing line between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone was the eastern border of Indiana. The entire state was on Central Time, and observed Daylight saving time (DST). In 1961 the Interstate Commerce Commission adjusted this line so that Indiana was split down the middle, with the eastern half of the state on Eastern Time, and the western half on Central time.
1967-2006
Having the state split in two time zones was inconvenient and so, in 1967 Governor Roger D. Branigin petitioned the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to have the entire state of Indiana placed back on Central Time. Instead, DOT fixed the boundary in a position where all but 10 counties in western Indiana (those 10 counties were Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, and Jasper in the northwest and Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, and Spencer counties in the southwest) were in the Eastern Time Zone, but the state was given dispensation to exempt portions of itself from DST.
Although most portions of the state that were in the Eastern Time Zone did not observe (DST), some counties (including Floyd, Clark, Harrison, counties near Louisville, Kentucky, and Ohio and Dearborn, counties near Cincinnati, Ohio) observed it unofficially due to their proximity to major cities in other Eastern Time Zone states, and the Central time zone counties did observe DST.
To reiterate:
- 77 counties — most of the state — were on Eastern Standard Time and did not observe DST.
- Five northwestern counties near Chicago, and five southwestern counties near Evansville, Indiana, were on Central Time and did observe DST.
- Two counties near Cincinnati, and three counties near Louisville, were on Eastern time and under the Uniform Time Act were not allowed to observe DST , but nevertheless did observe DST unofficially in order to remain synchronized with Louisville and Cincinnati.
Things began to change in the 1990s, as Indiana's convoluted time zone situation was seen as retarding the state's economic growth. Interstate travel and commerce were difficult as people wondered, "What time is it in Indiana?"
2006-Present
On April 29, 2005, the Indiana legislature voted to begin observing DST statewide in 2006. The bill[1] to observe DST also required the governor to request federal review of the time zone divisions in the state. As a result of the review, the United States Department of Transportation moved eight more counties to the Central time zone, effective when DST began on April 2, 2006. These are Starke and Pulaski Counties in the northwest; Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry, and Pike Counties in the southwest.
Pulaski and Martin counties, however, reconsidered their bids to join the Central time zone and decided to formally petition to be in the Eastern time zone. Pulaski County Commissioners and County Council both voted unanimously on Monday, February 6, 2006, to declare "home rule" and stay on Eastern time if a federal agency did not grant an appeal to change the time-zone ruling; however, the county conceded on Monday, March 27, 2006, accepting Central time officially[2], although many residents say that they will continue to observe Eastern time unofficially, and the county has changed work hours for most county employees from 8:00-5:00 to 7:00-4:00, so that they are in sync with Eastern Time work hours[3]. Dubois, Daviess, Knox, and Pike Counties have also decided to ask the federal government to return them the Eastern time zone, the former voting to do so on April 27, 2006[4]. On August 14, 2006 Governor Mitch Daniels announced his support for the bid of these six counties to re-join the Eastern time zone. [5]
The confusion involving the time status of these counties has led to them being dubbed the "seesaw six".[6]
Controversy
The Indiana timezone debate remains controversial, with many arguing for the entire state to be on Central Time or for the state to return to the non-observance of DST. This controversy springs from the fact that not only is Indiana largely an agricultural state, but it is also divided between the Eastern and Central time zones, and includes suburbs of cities in other states in both zones (i.e. the suburbs of Chicago in the northwest which are on Central Time and the suburbs of Louisville in the south which are on Eastern Time). Being out of sync with neighboring states and the national changing of clocks is believed to have had a negative economic impact on the state. DST supporters claim that some businesses have relocated out-of-state, or avoided relocating in the state due to time-related confusion. [citation needed] Opponents of DST claim that daylight saving time creates costs and inconvenience associated with changing clocks twice a year, and has little or no real value. Proponents of Eastern Time without DST also point out that, on Eastern Time with DST, it is not truly dark in the summer until after 10:00, but on Central Time in the winter, it gets dark as early as 4:30. [citation needed]
External Links
- What Time Is It In Indiana?
- Indiana Time Zone Map 13 KB PDF file is a graphical overview of what counties are on Central and Eastern Time Zones in the State of Indiana.
- Standard Time Zone Boundary in the State of Indiana (a 139 KB PDF file) has some history, public comments from each county, the final DOT determination, and the resulting time zone boundary.