INDIANA WILL OBSERVE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME AS OF APRIL
2, 2006
Will Indiana observe Central Daylight Savings Time?
(4/29/2005 from TheStarPress.com) - Good News, Hoosiers, you will be
changing your clocks April 2, 2006. That is because your Indiana House
Legislators finally approved daylight-light saving time after a 22-year
battle late Thursday.
The narrow 51-46 vote happened just before midnight, with three House
Republicans switching their votes.
"Every vote counts," said Rep. Jack Lutz, R-Anderson, as Rep. Troy
Woodruff, R-Vincennes, cast the deciding vote.
Earlier Thursday, the House voted 49-48 against daylight time after the
Indiana Senate passed the measure 28-22 on Wednesday. Gov. Mitch
Daniels, who supported the time change, is expected to sign the bill.
Lutz, who had been a co-sponsor of daylight time for years, was sadden
that House Democrats played politics with the bi-partisan issue that
has been emotional and contentious for the last three decades.
"Some people in our caucus stepped up and approved good public policy
that will move this state forward," said Lutz.
East Central Indiana House Republicans including Lutz, and Reps. Bill
Davis of Portland, Tom Saunders of New Castle and Tim Harris of Marion
supported daylight time.
House Democrats including Reps. Phil Pflum of Milton, Terri Austin of
Anderson and Scott Reske of Pendleton. voted no. Rep. Tiny Adams,
D-Muncie, who is recovering from a stroke, was absent and is a daylight
supporter.
Davis lauded a handful of House Republicans that also included Reps.
John Ulmer of Goshen and Jeff Thompson of Lizton who also switched
votes to support daylight time.
"I don't think this will be a tough issue to sell," said Davis, whose
eastern Indiana district opposes daylight time. "It will create jobs
and economic development for the state."
Austin and Reske has switched earlier votes supporting daylight time to
no votes on Thursday.
Republican lawmakers saw the switch as a power play by House Minority
Speaker Pat Bauer of South Bend to stop Gov. Mitch Daniels from
fulfilling his legislative agenda.
Austin denied politics was involved in her vote, saying the original
measure took into consideration concerns from lawmakers representing
counties near other time zones.
Bruce Munson, attorney for House Republican caucus, said he was baffled
by the vote switching that ultimately passed daylight.
"I would have not bet a whole lot that it would have passed this
session," said Munson, a former local lawmaker.
Munson did said Bauer lost his political muscle by losing the daylight
vote, leaving Democrats little to bargain over the state budget and
spending for public education.
The measure requires the Legislature and Daniels to ask the U.S.
Department of Transportation to conduct hearings to determine whether
Central and Eastern time zone boundaries will be located.
Seventy-seven counties in the Eastern time zone, including Marion and
Muncie, have
been on standard time since Indiana exempted itself from federal law in
1971. The effort to pass daylight time has failed in the Legislature
over 20 times during the last 30 years.
