On a 16-4 vote the State Senate today approved Senator Anna MacKinnon’s bill to end Daylight Saving Time in 2017.
Sen. MacKinnon(R-Eagle River): ” We reached out to the business community specifically, because we were concerned that there might be adverse effects to their business operations. Overwhelmingly, 78% [were in favor]. The additionally piece of data that I’ll offer you today is that every single region in the state voted to eliminate Daylight Saving Time. Again, this is not a statistical survey, but Alaskans are passionate about the issue.”
The four no votes come from Democratic Sens. Johnny Ellis (Anchorage), Berta Gardner (Anchorage), Dennis Egan (Juneau) and Republican Bert Stedman (Sitka).
Southeast Alaskans have expressed concern that ending Daylight Saving Time would negatively impact fishing and tourism seasons.
