Alaska Considering New Time Zone
By Anne Buckle. Published 8-Apr-2016
A bill proposing to move the entire state to 1 time zone is advancing in Alaska Legislature.
Harbor of Juneau, Alaska in the US
©iStockphoto.com/dbvirago
The bill proposes to shift the entire state of Alaska from its current 2 time zones to Pacific Standard Time (PST) and eliminating Daylight Saving Time (DST).
Same as California and Washington
A change would put Alaska on the same time as California and Washington in the winter months.
The House State Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 6 on Thursday, April 7, 2016. The original bill was passed in March last year.
For the change to take effect Senate Bill 6 needs to be approved in the House Finance Committee, the full House, and the Senate. Finally, it is up to the U.S. Department of Transportation to give its stamp of approval.
Protests from Businesses
Both businesses and the tourism industry in Alaska have protested against the change, claiming that fewer daylight hours will have a negative effect on their business.
Alaskans have a history of opposing DST. In 2010 a bill to remove DST in Alaska was defeated in the Alaska State Senate.
Time in Alaska
Today most of the state, including the capital, Juneau, uses Alaska Standard Time (AKST). It is 9 hours behind UTC. When DST is in force, clocks in Alaska are 8 hours behind UTC.
Parts of the Aleutian Islands in the far west of the state switch between Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST) and Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time (HADT)
In November 2015, the Metlakatla Indian Community moved from PST to Alaska Standard Time (AKST).