Legislature(2009 - 2010)BUTROVICH 205
04/16/2009 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB189 | |
| HB19 | |
| HB106 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 189 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 19 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 106 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 19-ELIMINATE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
9:33:45 AM
CHAIR MENARD announced the consideration of HB 19. [CSHB 19(L&C)
was before the committee.]
CRYSTAL KOENEMAN, Staff to Representative Anna Fairclough,
Alaska State Legislature, said HB 19 eliminates daylight-saving
time (DST) in Alaska. She has been doing research and has had
discussions with constituents and the people of Alaska. There
are health, safety, and annoyance issues associated with DST.
REPRESENTATIVE ANNA FAIRCLOUGH, Alaska State Legislature,
sponsor of HB 19, said some say that this is a frivolous issue
to take up at this time. She waited two years to bring the bill
forward. She has many constituents who are very concerned. She
referred to a letter she sent out to those on both sides of the
issue. Polls show that Alaskans support the repeal of DST. The
Alaska State Chamber of Commerce did a poll that showed the
opposite. Businesses are against the repeal. She found that
there are geographic differences in the answers. But there have
been two statewide surveys that say most Alaskans support the
repeal. Daylight and dusk doesn't mean a lot to many Alaskans
for most of the year. In Nome it takes ten days to make up that
hour that we jump forward. In Juneau it takes 13 days, and in
Seattle it takes a little more. "We've come a long way since we
argued about wax and wicks in World War I," or since Benjamin
Franklin spoke about being able to manipulate energy consumption
and save wax and wicks. "We have air conditioners that run in
the evening now, and cooling systems that are much different in
energy consumption." Alaskans believe that technology is there
to help with the challenges that businesses think they will face
by repealing DST. Schools don't support DST. Over 500 people
responded to her with emails. Schools were disadvantaged for two
to ten days with increased restlessness; teachers told her that
test scores change; and school boards are taking up the issue
throughout Alaska. They are trying to figure out if they can
take formal positions. "Wrangell is in opposition, and Wrangell
is located in Southeast."
9:39:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said there are workforce safety
issues. The Anchorage Police Department said "the hour increase
does reduce accidents on our road because of the transportation,
and conversely, in the fall, it goes back up when we plunge
people back into darkness." She asked Chugach Electric if usage
went up or down. Only looking at one year, energy consumption
did go down the weekend following DST, but it went up the
following weekend. Weather was a bigger factor. The best reason
for stopping this madness of flipping clocks and wasting
people's time is health. The New England Journal of Medicine in
March, 2009, noted that heart attacks increase the first three
to five days by five percent "when we jump on to daylight-saving
time." Everyone enjoys the extra hour of sleep a lot more than
losing it. A 2008 study in Germany found that there is a
sensitivity to time changes for those who have seasonal
affective disorder or depression. It is like jet lag, which
takes its toll on the body, "but you actively choose to do that
and you know that you need to get more sleep so you either fly
in early or you make up that sleep at another point." But one's
health is put at risk. Doctors say that youth have a harder time
with the circadian rhythm readjustment. Their hypothalamus is
not fully developed.
9:42:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said there are genuine concerns in
business and industry. The best argument is the inconsistency of
time "if we were off and the rest of the nation was on." This is
a three step process, and the committee has what Representative
Fairclough believes is the right first step: having Alaskans
stop risking their health and just staying on a consistent time.
Hawaii and Arizona are not on DST. Indiana just went on DST and
had $9 million in increased energy use. The second step will be
a resolution asking the federal government to stop the madness.
The third step will be introduced today. It will consider time
zones. Western Alaska is at a disadvantage. When it is high noon
there, the clocks say 3:00 p.m. It's not healthy.
CHAIR MENARD said she works in the dental field, and often has
to contact the East Coast during the day. It makes it difficult
when seeing an emergency patient, and the East Coast offices are
closed by 1 p.m. Alaska time. This bill would add another hour.
9:45:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said she worked in retail management
for years, and she was in contact with the East Coast. She asked
businesses what time they start work. Typically staff come in at
about 8 o'clock. Every time she called the East Coast at that
time, people were out to lunch. A four-hour difference would run
into their lunch time. "I understand that we would have to
recognize seven months of the year we would be four hours off
and five months of the year we would be four hours off." That is
why it is a three step process. This should be the first step
for health reasons.
SENATOR MEYER asked why this was done. "Was it for the farmers
so they'd have more time out in the fields?"
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said the history is in the packet. In
World Wars I and II, America was faced with energy shortages. By
going "dark" we could save money. Farmers were brought into it,
but the farming community has been in opposition for years. The
cows have to be milked when the cows have to be milked, and
jumping the clocks doesn't work.
SENATOR MEYER said he grew up on a farm and never knew why the
farmers got credit for daylight savings. It is more confusing to
have the time difference vary from four hours to five hours.
9:48:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said, "If you deal with Arizona or
Hawaii, it's already happening." It depends on how much someone
deals with marketers. "You still would have three hours to
communicate." They are the same three hours because they are out
to lunch. It is confusing. "They would spring forward; we would
not." More Alaskans would live, and that's a good thing.
WAYNE STEVENS, President and CEO, Alaska State Chamber of
Commerce, said there will be unforeseen economic difficulties
associated with the passage of HB 19. The state chamber supports
any proposal to eliminate DST at the federal level, because that
would maintain the current differentiation in time zones across
the United States. Passage of HB 19 should be postponed until
there is an exploration of the economic effects on Alaska's
businesses. Eliminating DST will disadvantage Alaska businesses
by reducing the number of hours to interface with business
partners, advisors, customers, and suppliers for a substantial
portion of the year. Private and public finance entities will
obviously be negatively affected. Digital technology is
programmed for daylight savings, and Alaska would have the cost
of synchronizing. Alaskans must be assured that vendors would be
willing to provide program patches in a timely manner to all
equipment and devices, like cell phones, medical equipment, and
others that adjust automatically to DST.
9:52:11 AM
THOMAS CARBENDER, North Pole, said he figures Alaska has DST
because "the folks in Washington DC would like to get in an
extra nine." Most electronic devices have a checkbox for DST, so
the electronics issue is moot. A website gives plenty of reasons
why Alaska shouldn't have daylight savings, and Ms. Koeneman
presented most of them. DST is now two weeks earlier, so the
older electronics don't even work. The House [of
Representatives] has spent a great deal of time on DST, and the
conclusion is that Alaska doesn't need it. The Senate has to
have three hearings, and so go ahead and hold the other two
hearings to get this to the Senate floor for a vote. Most people
in Alaska see DST as a pain. "Twice a year you have to fight the
clocks and try to figure out what to do and not to mention the
health risks and everything else."
BOB TOBEY, small business owner, Copper Center, said he lives in
rural Alaska and opposes this bill. This will put Alaska behind
the East Coast for half of the year. As a business owner that
deals with East Coast distributers, this will cost time, money,
and convenience. The added delay to the Lower 48 also increases
the difficulty in communications with family and friends.
Outside travel and connections become more difficult. "We should
not increase our isolations by adding another hour delay." He
remember the difficulties in the 1970s when Alaska was one to
four hours off of the time in the Lower 48. Health studies only
look at the impacts on one day a year. What about the health,
cost, and inconvenience many Alaskans will have on a much more
frequent basis when conducting business? A detailed study of the
real costs to Alaskans will likely find it to be overwhelming
negative and far outweigh the brief benefit of one hour of extra
sleep. He supports one time zone, and it would be far better to
stay on DST so at least for half of the year Alaska would only
be separated from the East Coast by three hours.
9:56:59 AM
PAULA RAK, Wrangell, said she is opposed to HB 19 as she has
been every time it comes up. When Alaska first switched from
four time zones to one, Southeast Alaska compromised by losing
the extra hour of daylight in the evening so it could be on the
same time zone as Anchorage. "We're not happy about it, but,
none-the-less, that's the way it is." If DST were eliminated it
would be as if the Railbelt area were on its original time zone,
and Southeast would be two hours off -- "we like being on
Pacific Standard time." The bill reneges on a deal that was made
years ago. The trend in the states is to have DST. Arizona is
the only state left that doesn't have it. DST has been
lengthened by starting earlier. She has heard that people want
to eventually stay in one time zone all year round and - [she
was told to wrap it up]. It is a lifestyle issue. "We would gain
an hour in the morning before work when we couldn't use it. The
kids would lose an hour of play time after school; we'd all lose
an hour of fishing time after work. It's just not worth the
inconvenience."
9:59:54 AM
LYNN WILLIS, Eagle River, said he has no financial interest in
this bill, but he strongly supports HB 19. Alaska's population
is 683,000, and they depend on knowing the time of day, and
their lives are impacted by DST. There ought to be a clear and
compelling reason to keep a law that has such impact. It is not
energy savings or public safety. Department of Transportation
data showed that vehicle accidents in 2009 decreased following
the onset of DST with the caveat that it was dependent on the
weather. When sunset is delayed, sunrise is delayed. Making it
safer for outdoor activity in the evening makes the same
activities less safe the next morning. "Is the clear and
compelling reason public health? No." DST forces a change to our
internal clocks like traveling between time zones. Recent
studies are quantifying the affects of sleep disturbance, and
they show an increase in health problems attributable to the
onset of this jetlag-like sleep disturbance. DST is not
necessary for commerce. Alaska business has relations with
Pacific Rim nations, Hawaii, Arizona, and Saskatchewan, none of
which use DST. The permanent two-hour difference between Alaska
and the Pacific Coast was reduced to one hour with the creation
of the current Alaska time zone. Communication technology allows
commercial transactions "24-7." Personal convenience is not a
compelling reason to mandate use of DST by every Alaskan. DST is
not popular with Alaskans. A clear majority either favor the end
of DST or have no opinion. Four previous bills calling for the
repeal of DST and a bill calling for a statewide referendum have
been blocked in various committees. He read a letter from the
newspaper. "They say they support the repeal. A lack of sleep
may be to blame for the Swedish study that says there's an
increase in heart attacks cited in the Readers Digest." For
elderly people, they found that it aggravated their health
problem. "You owe these people an explanation if you oppose HB
19."
10:03:04 AM
JIM ADAMS, Nome, urged support for HB 19. Many people turn the
heat down at night, and if the clock is moved up, they have to
turn their heat up sooner. He was on a cruise ship, and when the
captain announced they were going off DST, everyone cheered.
FAITH BARNES, Cordova, said she is in favor of HB 19. Time
change contributes to sleep disturbance, depression, and obesity
in children and adults. A person who already has a hard time
sleeping will have difficulty changing time - it's just another
obstacle to overcome. Lack of sleep contributes to depression
and that can contribute to eating disorders. Health should come
before business. Alaska should do what is best for its people
and be a leader and not a follower.
SENATOR MEYER said the bill has a few more committees, so he
would like it moved. He moved to report CSHB 19(L&C) from
committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal
note(s). There being no objection, the motion carried.
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