The United States Department of Transportation has opened a docket on Indiana Time Zone matters. Hopefully that link is static and will take readers to the appropriate USDOT page. (Even having the docket number, I couldn’t seem to get the page through the docket search page.) The proceeding is entitled “Time Zone Boundaries in the State of Indiana” and the docket number is: OST-2005-22114.
From the above linked page, individuals can submit comments and documents. The PDF of the notice is available at http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf92/341938_web.pdf. The Notice “invites local officials in Indiana that wish to change their current time zone in accordance with Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 127 to notify DOT of their request for a change.” Local officials are directed to submit their requests by September 16, 2005. If the submitted petition(s) affirmatively ask for a specific change and provide adequate supporting data, DOT will issue a notice of proposed rule making.
The “supporting data” should be “detailed information supporting the requesting party’s contention that the requested change would serve the ‘conveniene of commerce.’ Convenience of commerce is defined broadly as all impacts upon a community of a change in its standard of time. At a minimum supporting documentation is required to address:
1. From where do businesses in the community get their supplies, and to where do they ship their goods or products?
2. From where does the community receive television and radio broadcasts?
3. Where are the newspapers published that serve the community?
4. From where does the community get its bus and passenger rail services; if there is no scheduled bus or passenger rail service in the community, to where must residents go to obtain these services?
5. Where is the nearest airport; if it is a local service airport, to what major airport does it cany passengers?
6. What percentage of residents of the community work outside the community; where do these residents work?
7. What are the major elements of the community’s economy; is the community’s economy improving or declining; what Federal, State, or local plans, if any, are there for economic development in the community?
8. If residents leave the community for schooling, recreation, health care, or religious worship, what standard of time is observed in the places where they go for these purposes?
Counties or other governmental representatives are free to petition after the September 16, 2005 date, but such petitions may not be included in any rulemaking covering those petitions received by that deadline.
Prior entries on USDOT and the time zone issue:
The jist of a lot of those entries are that Governor Daniels messed up his obligations under SEA 127. That bill, which enacted Daylight Saving Time, required Governor Daniels to submit any data required by the USDOT to obtain hearings on time zones. That means, in my opinion, he was required to submit data about whether shifting the time line serves the “convenience of commerce” for all of Indiana or parts thereof. Under the system outlined by the USDOT, the data submission burden has been shifted from the Governor (as required by the statute) to county officials (under the USDOT notice). It also skews the debate. The convenience of commerce for a particular county is going to be different than the convenience of commerce for the entire state. The legislature seemed to have a statewide approach in mind.
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