Indiana Chamber of Commerce Tries to Save Time
Summer 2005

The debate is over and on April 28 the Indiana Legislature voted for Indiana to observe Daylight Savings Time. However, more decisions lie ahead. The United States Department of Transportation must now decide if the 77 counties that are currently on Eastern time but do not observe Daylight Savings Time will remain in this time zone, or change to the Central time zone next year. Presently, five counties near Louisville and Cincinnati are also on Eastern time, but these five counties observe Daylight Savings Time, unlike the majority of the state. The five counties near Chicago, as well as the five counties near Evansville also already observe Daylight Savings Time, but these counties are on Central time. The decision now facing the US DoT is whether to have Indiana join the five Eastern Daylight counties, or the 10 Central Daylight counties.

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is clear about what decision it would make. The Chamber says that the 77 undecided counties do greater business with organizations in the Eastern time zone than with the Central time zone. In fact, the Chamber shows that it does $197.7 million worth of business in the Eastern time zone, with only $133.4 million in the Central time zone. Furthermore, the Chamber feels that by remaining in the Eastern time zone, these 77 counties will truly experience Daylight “Savings” Time, rather than what Chamber President Kevin Brinegar calls, “Daylight ‘Losing’ Time,” due to shorter daylight hours.

The 15 counties already observing Daylight Savings Time will most likely not have to switch time zones, regardless of the US DoT decision. However, due to a violation of the “one zone per state” guideline, there is a slight possibility of change that people living in these 15 counties should recognize.

No matter what decision is made, be sure to change your clocks on April 2, 2006 and to adjust business transactions as necessary. This is a change that affects all people and businesses in Indiana, and we all need to be as informed as possible. If you have any questions regarding the time zone change, feel free to call the IBCA office at 317-669-8186.