Does anybody really know what time it is?
You can bet everyone living within the state of Indiana does… now.
Yesterday, Indiana legislators passed a law requiring the entire state to honor Daylight Savings Time… Finally!
For some reason, Indiana has always been a rebel… doing their own thing in terms of time zones. In fact, their unique observance (in some parts) and avoidance (in other parts) of Daylight Savings Time is actually written into their State Law.
Until now…
Why Isn’t Everyone On Daylight Savings Time?
Indiana has been one of three states (Arizona and Hawaii are the others) who have resisted the urge to “spring ahead” from Standard to Daylight Savings time and “fall back” from Daylight Savings to Standard 6 months later.
—> Listen to NPR Audio regarding the controversy in Indiana over Daylight Savings Time.
So, What Time Is It In Indiana?
Here’s an example of how cumbersome it has been to determine what time it is in different parts of Indiana.
Oddly enough, SOME parts of Indiana honor Eastern Time, and some honor Central Time. On top of that, some counties do and some counties don’t make the switch with Daylight Savings Time each year.
- 76 counties in Indiana are in the Eastern Time Zone, but don’t honor Daylight Savings Time
- 11 counties are in the Central Time Zone and they honor BOTH Central Time and Daylight Savings Time
- 5 counties honor BOTH Eastern Time and Daylight Savings Time.
—> Here’s how it all breaks down.
This has been a long-standing controversial issue. In fact, in SOME Indiana counties, the citizens collectively banded together and, for years, have refused to honor the time zone they were “supposed” to be in. Those Hoosiers…
Perhaps the funniest part is that there actually IS something known as “Indiana Time“!
New State Law: Indiana WILL “Spring Forward” In April 2006
The battle to switch the entire state to Daylight Savings Time was contentious in the legislative chambers of the Capitol Building as well, with several failed attempts to get Senate Bill 127 passed.
However, Wednesday night the Senate voted 28-22 to adopt the Daylight Savings Time bill. Then late last night, in a 51-46 vote, the House adopted the bill.
First-term Representative, Troy Woodruff (R) from Vincennes, was the deciding vote — he switched his vote at the last minute. And, by voting AGAINST what the majority of his constituents wanted, Woodruff may have put his seat in jeopardy. (He only won by 193 votes the last time.)
—> Listen to today’s NPR segment with Indiana legislator Troy Woodruff about Indiana’s new ruling.
Indiana’s Governor is expected to sign the bill into law, making April 2006 the first time that the entire state of Indiana will be honoring Daylight Savings Time.
Interesting Side Note…
People in OTHER states are rebelling <a href=”https://www.standardtime.com/” target=”_blank” title=”Click for a website for a grassroots effort to end Daylight Savings
Time.”>against the switch to Daylight Savings Time each year too.
For example, farmers, who must wake with the sun no matter what time their clock says, are greatly inconvenienced by having to change their schedule in order to sell their crops to people who observe daylight saving time.
As a homeowner, I primarily write about weather safety tips that everyone should know in order to protect their home and family during major weather events. I especially like to share seasonal “outside the box” ideas that most wouldn’t think of in the Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall.
The weather events I’ve personally experienced include: Hurricanes (while living in Florida), Tornadoes (while living in Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee), Earthquakes (while visiting California), Blizzards (while living in New York and Indiana), and Flooding (while living in Tennessee).
