Five members of the Alaska House of Representatives have introduced HB 64 entitled, “An Act exempting the state from daylight saving time; and providing for an effective date.”\u00a0 This is the third bill introduced to the 29th Alaska legislature, along with two bills from the Alaska Senate introduced earlier this month.<\/p>\n
HB 64 is sponsored by Representative Chris Tuck, and co-sponsored by Representatives Bryce Edgmon, Shelley Hughes, and Wes Keller.\u00a0 This bill is identical in wording and effect as SB 6 sponsored by Senator Anna MacKinnon and co-sponsored by Senators Bill Stoltze and John Coghill.<\/p>\n
Time Zone Report hopes that this bill introduced in the Senate mirroring the bill in the House means that there is some consensus building across the Alaska legislative bodies.\u00a0 Even more encouraging is that the House bill is co-sponsored by a split of Democrats and Republicans.<\/p>\n
Senator Wielechowski’s bill, SB 11, contains similar language to SB 6 and HB 64, but would take effect one year earlier, in 2016.<\/p>\n
If any of these bills are passed, Alaska would join Arizona and Hawaii as the two states whose legislators have opted out of Daylight Saving Time.<\/p>\n
Alaska, being so far north, already has very special issues with daylight.\u00a0 In 2015 at the state capital of Juneau, for example, the sun will rise today (January 22) at 8:22am and set at\u00a0\u00a03:57pm, providing only seven and a half hours of daylight, while six months later on July 22 the sun will rise at 3:29am and set at\u00a08:38pm, providing 15 hours of daylight. (All times are in Alaska Standard Time; see full table for 2015 here<\/a>.)\u00a0 It seems clear that adding Daylight Saving Time to their situation is unnecessary — they have enough to deal with sunlight-wise already!<\/p>\n Five other states have active legislation now regarding Daylight Saving Time: Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.\u00a0 Arizona had a bill to adopt Daylight Saving Time introduced earlier this month, but a social medial campaign prompted the bill’s sponsor to withdraw it.<\/p>\n Keep up to date on DST legislation at Time Zone Report’s web site, http:\/\/TimeZoneReport.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>