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Senators hear two approaches to ending daylight saving time; committee leaves bills open for amendments
Summary
The Senate State Affairs Committee heard two bills to end daylight saving time in Alaska: SB102 would adopt year‑round standard time immediately; SB26 would seek federal approval to place Alaska in Pacific Standard Time and make the exemption effective upon USDOT action. Committee left both bills open for amendment and public comment.
The Senate State Affairs Committee held hearings April 22 on two bills that would end Alaska’s twice‑yearly clock change, taking competing paths to the same stated goal of eliminating daylight saving time.
Senate Bill 102, presented by committee staff Joe Hayes, would exempt Alaska from observing daylight saving time and adopt year‑round standard time immediately. Hayes said the measure is intended to restore morning daylight and reduce documented health risks linked to the biannual clock change.
Senate Bill 26, sponsored by Senator Kelly Merrick of Eagle River, takes a different approach: it would direct the legislature to petition the U.S. Department of Transportation to place the entire state in Pacific Standard Time and would make an exemption from daylight saving time effective only if the USDOT places Alaska in Pacific Standard Time on or before 2035. Carrie Crocker, staff to Senator Merrick, said SB26 seeks federal approval to move Alaska to Pacific time to align the state with the West Coast and to address stakeholders such as tourism and banking.
Invited and public testimony favored abandoning the twice‑yearly clock change and largely supported returning to standard time rather than permanent daylight saving time. Jay Pea, president of the nonprofit Safe Standard Time and co‑chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, told the committee that permanent standard time best protects circadian health and morning light; he warned that permanent daylight time can push Anchorage sunrise times past 9 a.m. for parts of the year. Health professionals who testified, including Lisa Alexia, a physician assistant who has worked in rural Alaska, emphasized public‑health benefits and the particular importance of morning light for schoolchildren, commuters and people working outdoors.
Other residents—including speakers from Willow, Fairbanks, Eagle River and Anchorage—said ending the clock change would improve safety, reduce sleep disruption and simplify business and travel. Several witnesses urged the committee to choose the approach that would take immediate effect and restore morning light rather than waiting for federal action. Senator Merrick said SB26 is intended to meet stakeholders’ needs by securing federal permission to locate Alaska in Pacific Standard Time, a more complex but potentially longer‑term alignment.
The committee set an amendment deadline of April 28 at the close of business for both SB102 and SB26 and left public testimony open. No formal action was taken to advance either bill at the April 22 hearing; the committee set both bills aside for further work and possible amendment.
