In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed legislation that placed most of Indiana in the Eastern Time Zone, with the exception of the Northwest and Southwest counties. These counties observed Daylight Saving Time and Fall Time. Debate in the city led to the Indiana General Assembly passing a law to place all of Indiana on Central Standard Time and ban Daylight Saving Time. However, in 1985, the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 of 1985, which called on the USDOT to move five southwestern Indiana counties (Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer and Gibson) from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone.
This statute officially placed Northwest and Southwest Indiana in the Central Time Zone, in observance of Daylight Saving Time, while the rest of the state remained in Eastern Standard Time throughout the year. Those who oppose Daylight Saving Time argue that scientific studies have identified a significant increase in energy use and electricity spending by Indiana households. On the other hand, supporters of Daylight Saving Time and a common time zone in Indiana often assert that Indiana must adopt the Eastern United States timing system to preserve interstate business with that region. Despite Indiana law, several counties in eastern Indiana (Ohio and Dearborn Counties, near Cincinnati; and Floyd, Clark and Harrison Counties, near Louisville) chose to unofficially observe Daylight Saving Time.
