Indiana Time Zone Changes
State of Indiana - Recent Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time Changes
Effective Date: April 2, 2006 - all of Indiana observes daylight saving time. The legislation authorizing this statute was passed on April 29, 2005 by the Indiana legislature in Senate Bill 0127.
Excerpt from Senate Bill 0127
"Time observance in Indiana. Requires Indiana to observe daylight saving time throughout the state, beginning in 2006. Petitions the United States Department of Transportation to initiate proceedings to hold hearings on the issue of the location of the boundary between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone in Indiana. Advises the Department of Transportation that any Indiana county currently located in the Central Time Zone should remain in the Central Time Zone and that Clark County, Dearborn County, Floyd County, Harrison County, and Ohio County should remain in the Eastern Time Zone. Requires the governor to send a copy of the act to the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation to notify the Department of the state's petition. Provides that the state supports the effort of any county to change the time zone in which the county is located under procedures established by federal law."
Previously 77 counties, most of Indiana, were in the Eastern Time Zone and did not observe daylight saving time. Five counties Clark, Dearborn, Floyd, Harrison and Ohio County which which were in the eastern time zone, did observe daylight saving time, and ten other counties, Gibson, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick which were in the central time zone did observe daylight saving time. While there was much debate over the observance of daylight saving time within the state, the result of this legislation created more uniformity throughout the state in regards to time observance. At this time 82 counties were in the eastern time zone and ten counties were in the central time zone.
Effective Date: April 2, 2006 - the eight Indiana counties of Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry, Pike, Pulaski and Starke moved from the Eastern to Central Time Zones. Authorization for this change was granted by the US Department of Transportation which has legal authority over time zone observance within the United States. With this change 74 counties were in the eastern time zone and 18 counties were in the central time zone.
Effective Date: March 11, 2007 - Pulaski County moved back to the Eastern Time Zone. Previously Pulaski County had moved from Eastern to Central Time effective April 2, 2006. The Federal Government approved Pulaski's request to return to the Eastern Time Zone on February 9, 2007. With this change 75 counties were in the eastern time zone and 17 counties were in the central time zone.
Effective Date: November 4, 2007 - The five counties of Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, and Pike moved from Central to Eastern Time effective when Daylight Saving Time ended. With this change 80 counties are in the eastern time zone and 12 counties were in the central time zone.