The two halves of Gulf both seem to want to remain in their time zone (and get the other side to adopt there time). The article does mention that when a referendum was held in the 1980s, eastern time zone was preferred. There was a local push in 2009 to hold a referendum on the issue, but other than this article I find no records of a public vote taking place. The lines follow an old river and surveys from decades ago. Joe in line with its coastal neighbors in Franklin County. Northern, more rural Gulf county is in the western time Zone, while coastal Gulf is in eastern time zone. Indeed the county has been split since the early 1900s. If look closing at the Florida Time Zone map, you will notice Gulf County is not entirely in one time zone. By dropping the unified time provision, it ensured the NW panhandle would only be 1 hour ahead of Alabama in the winter. Local officials and businesses did not like the idea of a two-hour time difference with Alabama in the winter months. These voters commute and deal with the Alabama media market and sharing their time zone makes sense. However, the proposal met fierce opposition from the three state senators who have constituents in the central time zone. Currently the Northwestern panhandle is in central time. The original Senate bill would have also united Florida under one time zone. The time zone map would like this during the winter (map via Practical Tangent ) The legislation would put Florida in the Atlantic Time Zone, an hour ahead of the east, for the winter and early spring months. However, the real issue that seemed to get far less attention was what the effects of the change would be on Florida’s relationship with the rest of the eastern time zone. Opponents cite children waiting for school buses in the dark as well as morning commutes. Proponents of the plan to make this permanent in Florida cite potential benefits to tourism with an extended amount of light in the evening. When clocks are turned back in October, it gets darker earlier and lighter earlier. The effect of daylight savings time (when clocks are turned forward in March) is daylight lasting longer into the evening and it remaining darker later into the morning. The measure, if implemented, would mean Florida would not turn its clocks back in October. Later studies have also shown that the energy savings are minimal but a small savings does occur.In the final weeks of Florida’s Legislative Session, lawmakers took up a proposal by State Senator Greg Steube that would make daylight savings time permanent in Florida. extended daylight savings from the 2005 law, there were savings of about 0.5 percent in electricity per day.

Department of Energy found that during the 4 weeks the U.S. Reduces energy usage, a 2008 study by the U.S.Benefits the agricultural economy, which is disproportionately disrupted by biannual changes in time by upsetting the synergy between farmers’ schedules and their supply chain partners.The Journal of Environmental Psychology found that DST increased pedestrian activity by 62% and cyclists activity by 38% because of additional daylight. Reduces childhood obesity and increases physical fitness, according to studies published by the International Journal Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, children see an increase in physical activity during DST.

Benefits the economy, according to a study by JP Morgan Chase, which found that there is a drop in economic activity of 2.2 percent – 4.9 percent when clocks move back.Reduces the number of robberies by 27 percent, according to a 2015 Brookings Institution because of additional daylight in the evenings.Reduces risk for cardiac issues, stroke and seasonal depression.Also reduces the number of vehicle collisions with wildlife by 8 – 11 percent by shifting normal traffic patterns to an hour off from nocturnal wildlife’s behavior. Reduces car crashes and car accidents involving pedestrians: better aligning daylight hours to drivers’ standard work hours’ increases visibility, according to the American Journal of Public Health and the Journal of Safety Research.

Same time zone florida