03/18/2025 01:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

              SB 102-ELIMINATE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:41:42 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR   MERRICK  reconvened   the  meeting   and  announced   the                                                               
consideration of SENATE BILL NO.  102 "An Act exempting the state                                                               
from daylight saving time; and providing for an effective date."                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MERRICK invited  Senator Kawasaki and his  staff to briefly                                                               
reintroduce  SB  102,  sponsored  by  the  Senate  State  Affairs                                                               
Committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:42:09 PM                                                                                                                    
JOE   HAYES,  Staff,   Senator  Scott   Kawasaki,  Alaska   State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented survey results on SB 102.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  SCOTT KAWASAKI,  District P,  Alaska State  Legislature,                                                               
Juneau,  Alaska, thanked  committee  members for  hearing SB  102                                                               
again.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:42:30 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  HAYES distributed  a handout  of survey  results related  to                                                               
SB 102 and discussed  its findings. The handout is  posted on The                                                               
Alaska State Legislature website.  He informed the committee that                                                               
the  survey  had been  live  for  only  one  week and  was  still                                                               
accepting responses.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR.  HAYES  expressed  his relatively  strong  feeling  that  the                                                               
citizens of Alaska support eliminating daylight saving time.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:43:33 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MERRICK announced invited testimony on SB 102.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
1:43:47 PM                                                                                                                    
JAY PEA,  President, Save Standard  Time, Phoenix,  Arizona, gave                                                               
invited testimony in  support of SB 102. He said  that he is also                                                               
the co-chair  for the  Coalition for  Permanent Standard  Time, a                                                               
collaboration   with   eight    nonprofit   health   and   safety                                                               
organizations.  He advised  voting "no"  on  SB 26  and "yes"  on                                                               
SB 102. He  said that he  wants to  "ditch the switch"  and "lock                                                               
the clock" as  most voters wish to do. He  recommended doing this                                                               
in  the  quickest  way  possible,  the  federally  approved  way,                                                               
permanent  standard time.  This  is the  safest, healthiest,  and                                                               
most lasting way per the lessons of history and science.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. PEA  said that daylight  saving time  is simply a  mandate to                                                               
wake early and to sleep less.  When the clock is turned ahead one                                                               
hour, the  alarm clock sounds one  hour earlier the next  day and                                                               
everyday  thereafter until  the  clock is  set  back to  standard                                                               
time. He said  that daylight saving time  was originally intended                                                               
only for  the summer; it was  never intended for winter.  It does                                                               
not  go  well  in  the  winter.  Daylight  saving  time  deprives                                                               
individuals an average  of 19 minutes of sleep  every night. This                                                               
leads  to   more  illnesses  and  more   fatal  accidents,  which                                                               
increases health care costs and cost lives.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:45:19 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  PEA said  that permanent  daylight saving  time would  delay                                                               
sunrise in Anchorage  past 9:00 a.m., resulting in  four and half                                                               
months of morning darkness at  9:00 a.m. Sunrise after 10:00 a.m.                                                               
in Anchorage  currently occurs for  one month; this  would become                                                               
three  months with  permanent daylight  time. The  latest sunrise                                                               
would  change  from  10:15  a.m. to  11:15  a.m.  with  permanent                                                               
daylight  time.  Sunrise is  progressively  later  moving out  to                                                               
Western  Alaska where  the sunrise  would occur  after noon  with                                                               
permanent daylight  time. He stated  that this makes  sunrise too                                                               
late.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. PEA emphasized that permanent  Pacific Standard Time (PST) is                                                               
equivalent to permanent Alaska Daylight  Time but noted that this                                                               
is federally  prohibited. He explained  that the  U.S. Department                                                               
of Transportation  has never  allowed an  entire state  to change                                                               
times zones as  proposed in SB 26. In short,  summers will always                                                               
have  longer  daylight  and  winters  will  always  have  shorter                                                               
daylight.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. PEA said  that permanent standard time is  the natural clock,                                                               
aligning with the  sun at 12:00 p.m., high noon,  and providing a                                                               
balance of morning and evening  light. He emphasized that morning                                                               
light  is  important  for  school  children,  commuters,  outdoor                                                               
laborers, and  service personnel.  Morning light  supports sleep,                                                               
mood,  health, safety,  education,  and  productivity. He  stated                                                               
that this is the view of  the American Academy of Sleep Medicine,                                                               
the American  Academy of Neurology, the  National Safety Council,                                                               
and  the  Bloomberg  Editorial Board  across  all  latitudes  and                                                               
longitudes.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. PEA said that Arizona  and Hawaii have had permanent standard                                                               
time  for decades  and have  functioned well.  He said  that most                                                               
nations also follow permanent standard  time. He said more states                                                               
are  considering permanent  standard time,  including California,                                                               
Texas, and  New York.  He said  that a  Gallup Poll  found nearly                                                               
half of  Americans want a standard  time and only a  quarter want                                                               
permanent daylight  time. He  reiterated that  permanent standard                                                               
time is  federally approved. He  urged the  passage of SB  102 to                                                               
end the clock  change. He asked the committee to  vote "no" on SB
 and "yes" on SB 102.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:47:33 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MERRICK found no further discussion on SB 102.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
[SB 102 was held in committee.]