In 1883, the railroad companies moved forward with the adoption of 4 US Time Zones.  In doing so, they drew an artificial line that split the Florida Panhandle into 2 Time Zones.  Most of the state of Florida resides in the Eastern Time Zone, while 10 Florida counties reside in the Central Time Zone.  

Why this Matter

We all know that Florida is the Sunshine State and that the sun is what pays for our roads and schools and public projects. But not everybody is aware that this small portion of the Florida Panhandle that rests on the EXTREME eastern most edge of the Central Time Zone, actually gets LESS afternoon sun than any other area in the country.  

A few points of reference to better grasp how nonsensical this is:

The Upper Michigan Peninsula’s westernmost edge, ends around longitude 90W.  This is the same longitude as New Orleans, LA which is 3 states west of Florida.  And yet, all of Michigan including the Peninsula is in the eastern time zone while the Florida Panhandle is in the Central.  

The westernmost edge of the state of Indiana stops at longitude 88W.  This is further west than all of Florida and yet, the Florida panhandle is in the Central time zone while all of Indiana is in the Eastern Time Zone.

Just because we have done something one way since the 1890’s, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way to do it.  We are robbing the panhandle of an hour of sun every day which results in less revenue generation for the area and less tourism dollars spent and collected. In addition, more afternoon sunlight leads to a decrease in Seasonal Affective Disorder which affects many people as the days get shorter.

This petition is asking that the Central Time Zone line be moved 120 miles West and that ALL of Florida be put in the Eastern Time Zone where it belongs. No other state relies on Sunshine as much as Florida does, and giving more sunshine will provide more economic opportunity and better overall mental health outcomes to the people and visitors of the Florida Panhandle.