Lawmakers weigh exempting Alaska from daylight saving time

  • By Molly Dischner
  • Tuesday, February 10, 2015 10:32pm
  • News

JUNEAU — A state Senate committee has advanced a bill that would exempt Alaska from daylight saving time, a measure that its sponsor said would be good for the health of state residents.

The bill, from Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, would exempt Alaska from the annual time change beginning in 2017. That means Alaska would be five hours behind the East Coast, instead of four hours behind, from about March to November.

The delay in implementation is meant to give certain industries, like the cruise industry, time to prepare for the change.

The bill moved from the Senate State Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

MacKinnon told the committee that there are health effects associated with changing the clocks each spring and fall, and she wants to help Alaskans avoid those problems. Those include increased rates of heart attacks, suicide and traffic accidents in the spring, she said.

The bill would also help address productivity and school attendance issues that occur after the time change, MacKinnon said.

Eagle River resident Lynn Willis told the committee via teleconference that he supported the change, and it could improve safety for some jobs because it would mean more morning light.

There were concerns about how the change could affect businesses, however.

Mike Stedman, an owner of Wings Airways and Alaska Seaplanes, said that losing an hour of daylight each evening in the summer could reduce the number of floatplane flights his company operates because those planes can’t land in the dark.

Stedman estimated that several components of the business would take about a 20 percent hit if flights were reduced.

MacKinnon also said that those in the financial industry, including traders for the Alaska Permanent Fund, would have to be at work an hour earlier for much of the year to stay in touch with the markets.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, who introduced a similar bill, said he had spoken to MacKinnon and supported moving hers forward. His constituents supported not following daylight saving time, he said.

Under the Uniform Time Act, the state has the authority to exempt itself from daylight saving time, but not to change time zones entirely.

MacKinnon said her preference would be to move Alaska time forward an hour so that the state was essentially always on daylight saving time. But such a move would be a change in time zone and requires a two-step process that includes federal approval.

She said a broader conversation about Alaska’s time zones is needed, however. Because of the state’s size, many communities are several hours off from the standard noontime sun.

Before instituting its current time zones, Alaska had five time zones, she said.

More in News

Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank speaks during Kenai’s State of the City presentation at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Services, projects spotlighted at Kenai’s State of the City

Mayor Brian Gabriel and City Manager Terry Eubank delivered the seventh annual address.

The Homer Public Library. File photo
In wake of executive order, peninsula libraries, museums brace for funding losses

Trump’s March 14 executive order may dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

Cracks split the siding outside of Soldotna High School on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
SoHi siding, Hope roof repair projects move forward

The Soldotna project has been reduced from its original scope.

Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Aviation selected to provide air service to Seward

Scheduled flights between Seward and Anchorage will begin May 1.

Monte Roberts, left, and Greg Brush, right, raise their hands during an emergency meeting of the Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board’s guide committee at the Kenai Peninsula Region Office of Alaska State Parks near Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 25, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KRSMA board pushes back on new guide stipulations, calls for public process

Stipulations 32 and 40 were included in an updated list emailed to Kenai River guides.

KPBSD Board of Education member Patti Truesdell speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by three Kenai Peninsula legislators in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Education hot topic at local legislative town hall

More than 100 people attended a three-hour meeting where 46 spoke.

The Soldotna Field House is seen on a sunny Monday, March 31, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Field house work session set for April 9

A grand opening for the facility is slated for Aug. 16.

HEX President and CEO John Hendrix is photographed at Furie’s central processing facility in Nikiski, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Furie announces new lease to use Hilcorp rig, will drill this spring

A jack-up rig is a mobile platform that can be transported and deployed in different areas.

The ORPC proposed American Tidal Energy Project site is located at East Forland, Cook Inlet, just north of Nikiski, Alaska. Photo provided by ORPC
Marine energy developer pursues Cook Inlet tidal project

ORPC recently filed a draft pilot license application for a tidal energy project site near Nikiski.

Most Read