[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 218 (Monday, November 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69197-69198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22518]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[OST Docket No. 2005-22114]
RIN 2105-AD53


Standard Time Zone Boundary in the State of Indiana

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), the Department of Transportation 
(DOT).

ACTION: Notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: To gather information concerning the effects of changing time 
zone boundaries in Indiana, DOT is holding four public hearings. This 
notice provides the dates, times, locations, and agenda for these 
public hearings. The objective of the hearings is to provide State and 
local government representatives and the public an opportunity to 
comment on DOT's proposal concerning the time zone boundary in 18 
Indiana counties. To aid us in our consideration of whether a time zone 
change would be ``for the convenience of commerce,'' which is the 
standard Congress established for these matters, DOT seeks comments on 
how the time zone change impacts on such things as economic, cultural, 
social, and civic activities and how time zone changes affect 
businesses, communication, transportation, and education.

DATES: The hearing in Logansport will be held on November 13 from 2:30 
pm to 6:30 pm; in Terre Haute on November 14 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; in 
Jasper on November 16 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and in South Bend on 
November 21, 2005 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. To help us prepare for the 
meeting, all State and local government representatives must register 
in order to ensure an opportunity to speak at the hearings by November 
10, 2005. If anyone needs a sign language interpreter, please let us 
know as soon as possible. To register or to request an interpreter for 
the hearings, please send an e-mail message to [email protected] or 
call (202) 366-9283 and identify the hearing location at which you wish 
to speak. As announced previously, all written comments should be 
received by November 30, 2005, to be assured of consideration. Comments 
received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be held at the following locations:
     McHale Performing Arts Center, Logansport Community High 
School, 1 Berry Lane, Logansport, IN 46947. Phone: 574-753-4116 (http://mchalepac.lcsc.k12.in.us)
     Hulman Center Meeting Room Complex, Indiana State 
University, 200 North Eighth Street, (corner of 9th and Cherry Street) 
Terre Haute, IN 47809. Phone: 812-237-3770 (http://indstate.edu)
     Jasper Arts Center, 951 College Avenue, Jasper, IN 47546 
(adjacent to Vincennes University, Jasper Campus) Phone: 812-482-3070 
(http://www.jasperindiana.gov)
     Student Activity Center, Indiana University, South Bend 
Campus, 1700 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend, IN 46634 Phone: 574-520-4872 
(http://www.iusb.edu/maps)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanne Petrie, Office of the Assistant 
General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Room 10424, 400 Seventh Street, Washington, DC 20590, 
[email protected]; (202) 366-9306.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a notice published in the Federal 
Register on October 31, 2005, (70 FR 62288), DOT tentatively proposed 
to move St. Joseph, Starke, Knox, Pike, and Perry Counties from the 
eastern time zone to the central time zone. DOT also tentatively 
proposed not to change the time zone boundary for Marshall, Pulaski, 
Fulton, Benton, White, Carroll, Cass, Vermillion, Sullivan, Daviess, 
Dubois, Martin, and Lawrence Counties, leaving them in the eastern time 
zone. The

[[Page 69198]]

notice also announced that DOT intended to hold public hearings on its 
proposal.

Public Hearing

    In addition to the opportunity to provide written comments, DOT is 
providing an opportunity for State and local government representatives 
and the public to comment on our proposal concerning Indiana time zone 
boundary changes at four public hearings in Jasper, Logansport, South 
Bend, and Terre Haute. These hearings will be chaired by a 
representative of DOT.
    The DOT representative will describe the process that DOT uses to 
set time zone boundaries. There will be an opportunity for clarifying 
questions on her remarks. This will be followed by presentations by 
county government representatives who have requested an opportunity to 
speak. If the government representative is speaking on behalf of a 
county that petitioned for a change to the county time zone boundary, 
he or she has been asked to explain how the change would be for the 
convenience of commerce. After these presentations, other State and 
local government representatives will have an opportunity to comment, 
followed by the public. The DOT representative will attempt to provide 
an opportunity to speak for all those wishing to do so. To accommodate 
all interested speakers, the DOT representative may have to establish 
some time limits or other approaches for comment. For example, the DOT 
representative may provide an opportunity for citizens with like views 
to meet and collaborate on providing a joint statement.
    The hearings will be informal and will be tape-recorded for 
inclusion in the docket.

``For the Convenience of Commerce''

    The principal standard for deciding whether to change a time zone 
is ``for the convenience of commerce.'' This term is defined very 
broadly to include consideration of all the impacts upon a community of 
a change in its time zone. We have requested that counties seeking a 
change address, at a minimum, each of the following questions in as 
much detail as possible.
    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 carry 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?
    To aid us in our consideration of whether a time zone change would 
be ``for the convenience of commerce,'' we ask that all those who speak 
at the public hearing comment on the impact on commerce of a change in 
the time zone and whether and how a new time zone would improve the 
convenience of commerce. The comments should address the impact on such 
things as economic, cultural, social, and civic activities and how a 
time zone change would affect businesses, communication, 
transportation, and education. The comments should be as detailed as 
possible, providing the basis of the information including factual data 
or surveys.
    We will consider any other information that the county or local 
officials or the public believe to be relevant to the proceeding.

Jeffrey A. Rosen,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-22518 Filed 11-8-05; 11:45am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P