Legislature(1999 - 2000)
03/04/1999 05:00 PM House WTR
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 4 - ELIMINATE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME CHAIR BARNES announced the first order of business was House Bill No. 4, "An Act rejecting the use of daylight saving time." She called on Representative Kohring to come forward and introduce the bill. Number 0116 REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING stated, "We are all familiar with the concept of springing forward in the spring and falling back in the fall, and we're trying to stop that practice for a variety of reasons here, and we'll get to those momentarily." He said that Daylight Savings Time first originated in 1917 in Germany in order to save energy during the war. Since that time, the United States adopted Daylight Savings Time, including Alaska, in 1967. He believes that the 32-year experiment is a failure. There are other states that have taken Daylight Savings Time off their books, they include, Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and part of Indiana. REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING further stated that there would also be economic, as well as, other benefits from taking Daylight Savings Time off the books. First, the inconvenience of making adjustments to clocks in VCRs, computers, cash registers, fax machines and other electronic equipment. Number 0362 CHAIR BARNES clarified for the committee that if there was more than one time zone in Alaska, presently, taking Daylight Savings Time off the books would have to be done through the United States Department of Transportation. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked if the ramifications of trade with other states was going to be discussed. RANDY LORENZ, Researcher for Representative Vic Kohring, Alaska State Legislature, stated that there should be minimal impact with the trade with other states. Most of the members of the business community are doing their work through computers, so the need for ordering over the phone is less important then it would have been 20 years ago. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN said that when he first moved to Alaska over 20 years ago there were multiple time zones, and one of the main concerns for Anchorage and Juneau residents was the one hour time difference. Juneau wanted their time zone to be the same as Seattle, because so much of their correspondence and trade was with Seattle, but that would have meant a two-hour time difference between Anchorage and Juneau. Ultimately, there ended up being one time zone for the entire state. His concern is, if Alaska drops the Daylight Savings Time and Seattle goes on Daylight Savings Time, then in the summer there will be a two-hour difference instead of a one-hour difference. He asked if it would be better if Alaska goes on Daylight Savings Time and stays on Daylight Savings Time, so that way Alaska would be on the same time zone as Seattle for six months and the other six months of the year there would be a one hour difference. Number 0626 MR. LORENZ explained that Daylight Savings Time cannot be taken as Standard Time unless a resolution is passed, sent to Washington, and the federal government makes that change. Another reason is something called chronobiology, which is looking at the implications of changing the solar clock farther from the internal clock. Mr. Lorenz mentioned that some people say that forms of mental illness are caused or exacerbated by the change from the natural noon that occurs in an area. The majority of the people in Alaska, close to 75 percent, live at 150 degrees west longitude, Anchorage, which means Alaska is already an hour off. The shifting of time twice a year could cause more of a problem for people who suffer from seasonal defective disorder (SAD) or other mental illness. REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY stated that he supports HB 4. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked why people in different parts of the state can't start their day at a different time. He wondered if there was anything in statute. Number 0833 MR. LORENZ said, no, there is nothing in statute that requires the day to start at a certain time, but Daylight Savings Time is a choice also, and Alaskans have gone blindly along even though Daylight Savings Time provides Alaskans with no benefits. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked if Mr. Lorenz had talked to people in the business community about protecting or eliminating Daylight Savings Time, and what affects it might have on Federal Express mail and airports. MR. LORENZ informed the committee that he has talked to people in the business community. Most of the business community are doing ordering and banking through computers, so the need to talk to another individual is not as important. As for transportation there is a cost saving, because they run on Greenwich Mean Time. Number 1011 MR. LORENZ explained that Nazi Germany used Daylight Savings Time in World War II in order to get more work out of there prisoners, because of the extra hour of daylight in the evenings. He said that he cannot find any reason why the United States chose to implement Daylight Savings Time, other than, in the lower latitudes there would be an extra hour of daylight after work, so people could work outside. In Alaska there is plenty of daylight, and for what it costs to make the change every year, there doesn't seem to be a benefit. JOEL CURTIS, 9-year Alaska resident, testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He informed the committee that he is currently working as a lead forecaster for the National Weather Service. There are many advantages for staying on standard time. He said that in his own life he does rotating shift work as a lead forecaster for the National Weather Service, and is aware of the natural circadian rhythms that people have and their health. A central time meridian of 150 degrees west for all of Alaska would be going closer to people's natural time. He strongly agrees with Randy Lorenz about computers so readily being used now that there is no need for the West coast and the East coast to be in tune. There is a strong benefit for Alaskans to be closer to their natural time. He informed the committee that he quickly did an informal poll of the people in the room in Anchorage, and none of them wanted to go on Daylight Savings Time in the summer. He thanked Representative Kohring and Randy Lorenz for working on HB 4. DENNY WEATHERS testified via teleconference from Cordova, reading: Alaskans receive no benefits from Daylight Savings Time, it only serves as a nuisance. Friends in both Hawaii and Arizona which are on Standard Time year round say they love it. It would mean no more pulling clocks off the wall twice a year, no more missing appointments, being late to work or school, because either you or someone else missed a clock. We are supposed to be an independent sovereign state, so lets break away from the congress's mandated [mandate of] 1967 and switch back to Standard Time. She thanked the committee for the opportunity to testify. Number 1390 ERIK WEATHERS testifying via teleconference from Cordova, said that he doesn't like Daylight Savings Time and being a commercial fisherman it is difficult in dealing with the tides, so he just doesn't change his clock. ROBERT ROGERS testified via teleconference from Petersburg, saying that for Southeast Alaska eliminating Daylight Savings Time will not be very popular and not a good idea, because light is already limited in the evenings. [lost part of the testimony due to sound problems] Number 1549 PAULA RAK testified via teleconference from Wrangell, she stated: I would like to express my opposition to HB 4, which requests an elimination of Daylight Savings Time. Although the proposed change would make it slightly more convenient in that we would not have to adjust to an hour's change twice a year, the inconvenience it would cause would not be worth the benefit. Quoting 15 U.S.C. 260-64, time zones were established in the United States with 'regard for the convenience of commerce and the existing junction points and division points of common carriers engaged in interstate commerce'. The convenience of commerce has been defined to include consideration of all the impacts upon a community, which include impacts on individuals, families, businesses and other organizations. Because of our location in the Pacific Northwest, our commerce has historically been tied to the Seattle area, which observes Pacific Standard and Daylight Savings Time [PST/PDT] Zone. The proposed change would mean that we would be one hour different from the Pacific Northwest in the winter and two hours different in the summer. When our state government proposed that most of Alaska change to Alaska Standard Time, there was a loud outcry from Southeast Alaska. We were on Pacific Standard Time, the same as Seattle, and most residents did not want to change. Votes were held in many communities in Southern Southeast and it was overwhelmingly shown that we wanted to stay on Pacific Standard Time. Now we are being asked to swallow being another hour away from the favored time zone for part of the year. If it is so inconvenient to change from Standard time to Daylight Savings time, I would suggest that we stay on Daylight Savings Time year round instead of staying on Standard Time year round. As a business owner, I find it extremely inconvenient to be 4 hours different from the East Coast. This change would mean that we would be 5 hours different for part of the year and that we would have to try to remember when the rest of the country changes. Most people can't remember now without reminders, let alone try to remember when we are no longer switching ourselves [so there would be no reminders]. As an individual, I would sorely miss that lost hour of evening daylight. It would be greatly missed in the spring and summer when the days are shorter. As a parent, the children would miss that hour of playtime after school. I realize that it would not make as much difference in areas outside of Southeast Alaska, but the difference would be significant here. One must remember that we should actually be on Pacific Standard Time if one were to look at a map. She emphasized that Juneau is a lot farther south and farther east than Anchorage, therefore, Anchorage gets more light in the evenings and would not be as affected by this change. As far as the idea of natural time, Juneau should be on Pacific Standard Time. Number 1758 GINNY FAY, Legislative Liaison, Department of Commerce and Economic Development (DCED), stated that she is speaking on behalf of the DCED and they have concerns with HB 4. At this time Alaska is four-hours different from the East coast and two hours different from the West coast all year. A number of the permanent fund investment trackers have to come into work before 4:00 a.m. so they can be on their computers when the stock market opens. If Daylight Savings Time was eliminated, there would be people following stocks, not only at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, but also in the Department of Revenue, Treasury Division, coming into work before 3:00 a.m. In addition, the DCED is interested in Alaska having a more diverse economy. Alaska is four-hours different from the East coast, but the advantage is that Alaska can also tap into the Asian market by being somewhat in between. There are approximately 51 firms in Alaska, 103 branches, with a number of brokers in each firm. To be five hours off of Wall Street might have somewhat of a chilling affect on growing that financial sector. Even though a lot is done by computer, a lot is still done by phone. The timeliness of information available on computers is still dependent on a person being present to enter the information. Number 1915 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ asked Ms. Fay if she had talked to anyone in the business community. MS. FAY replied, that has not happened yet. Mostly she has spoken with members of the permanent fund and the DCED, Division of Banking, Securities and Corporations, and their perception is that it would be a problem for businesses, because large insurance companies are located on the East coast, as well as, a lot of large brokerages. REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ voiced concern about three different areas that would be affected by HB 4; investment managers, air traffic and logistic operations and the disported impact on different parts of the state. Number 2010 CHAIR BARNES stated that it would be her intention to pass HB 4 out of committee. REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY made a motion to move HB 4 out of committee with individual recommendation and the attached zero fiscal note and asked unanimous consent. REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked if there is an effective date. CHAIR BARNES explained that HB 4 did not have an effective date and would therefore go into effect 90 days after the passage. CHAIR BARNES asked unanimous consent. There being no objections, HB 4 was moved out of committee.
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