Updating our Feb. 4th and Feb. 9th Indiana Law Blog entries on Time in Indiana (scroll down), the Indianapolis Star this afternoon is carrying this AP story that reports:
A leading lawmaker expects the House to vote next week on a resolution asking the federal government to move most of Indiana to the Central time zone and have it observe daylight-saving time. Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, said today that he senses more legislative momentum now behind making a time switch than there has been in his 34 years in the General Assembly. He also said he believed the resolution would pass. * * *Apparently Dobois' concurrent resolution is not yet available. [A concurrent resolution is a simple resolution that is passed by both Houses, and accordingly represents the majority opinion of the General Assembly. It may be referred to a committee, but is generally adopted or rejected upon introduction, by a voice vote. It is unlike a Joint Resolution, which is mentioned in the Constitution and observes all formailites except presentment to the Governor (Art. 4, ss. 18, 25). The use of the joint resolution is generally reserved to proposing or agreeing to amendments to the Constitution.]Dobis said the resolution would ask the U.S. Department of Transportation, which regulates time zones, to move all but five counties in southeastern Indiana to the Central time zone. He said the agency would then hold field hearings in the state and consider moving the time zone boundary.
As explained in an rtv6 story earlier this week:
A resolution, if it passes the House and Senate, would ask the federal Department of Transportation to hold hearings on the issue. If the federal government determines that Hoosiers prefer Central time, it could put Indiana in the Central zone. Indiana law already stipulates that any county observing Central time must also observe daylight-saving time.Here is precisely what the current Indiana law, IC 1-1-8.1, provides:
Sec. 1. This state hereby exempts itself from observation of advanced time between 2 a.m. of the first Sunday in April and 2 a.m. of the last Sunday in October in each calendar year.Posted by Marcia Oddi at February 12, 2004 03:39 PM
(Formerly: Acts 1972, P.L.7, SEC.1. As amended by P.L.3-1989, SEC.1.)Sec. 2. In the event that the Congress of the United States or the Department of Transportation should permit any state which is divided by a time zone line to exempt less than a whole state from the observance of advanced or Daylight Savings Time, then in such event this chapter shall not apply to that portion of the State of Indiana that is in the Central Time Zone.
(Formerly: Acts 1972, P.L.7, SEC.1.)