The House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government and Veterans advanced HB 2426, which would allow everyone in the state of Oregon to choose how they fill up their car. Representative Shelly Boxhart Davis (R-Albany), Deputy House Republican Leader and chief sponsor of HB 2426 has bipartisan sponsors to help get it passed.

Service Stations have historically been a place for young people to enter the job market. They learned how to treat customers by washing windows, how to handle money, and developed a civic responsibility. It would free up owners and mechanics for repairs services. Along came minimum wage mandates, which changed the dynamics, and stations were forced to cut back on those quasi-apprenticeship hires.

Since then, service stations have become simply gas stations with very little “service” left. Legislation destroyed a natural opportunity for young people only to replace it with government searching out businesses to start apprenticeships for young people.

Oregon is one of two states, including New Jersey, that restricts self-dispensing of gasoline at gas stations. The prohibition dates back to 1951. Legislative findings regarding the prohibition cite:

• The need for training for safe dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids;
• Hazards faced by untrained persons dispensing such liquids;
• Difficulties for some persons, such as senior citizens, in self-dispensing fuel and the lack of ability to ensure full-service fuel dispensing;
• Health and environmental factors;
• The tendency for significantly higher cost of full-service fuel dispensing in states that allow self-service dispensing;
• The correlation between self-service dispensing and reduced availability of automotive repair at fueling stations; and
• Employment considerations.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

In 2015, HB 3011 authorized fueling stations in counties with populations less than 40,000 residents to permit non-employees to dispense fuels into motor vehicles or other containers between the hours of 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM. Two years later, HB 2482 (2017) eliminated the time-of-day restrictions and limited the applicability only to small counties in eastern Oregon.

Wiping away all the reasons for the original restrictions has been a slow process. Now House Bill 2426 allows retail fueling stations to operate up to half of their pumps as self-service dispensing devices but must designate at least one person to provide attended service. It allows motorcycle operators to dispense into their own motorcycle at attended or self-service devices. Opens up self-service to all rural counties. Authorizes State Fire Marshal to conduct outreach for two years to educate the public about changes to attended fuel service laws and to educate operators of filling stations regarding provisions of measure, and prevents enforcement penalties until March 1, 2024.

Opponents don’t see a “grassroots groundswell” begging for self-serve pumps. They see Oregon’s large population, that will be hurt the most, of senior men and women, the disabled, paralyzed veterans and other residents who will be adversely impacted like pregnant women inhaling fumes, those suffering from arthritis and surgery pain. They see that self-pump Washington gas prices are higher than Oregon and longer lines with people slower at pumping their own gas. They don’t believe pricing will change, just less service, and less jobs for the unemployed and homeless.

The bill goes to the House floor then to the Senate where the public will have another opportunity to testify.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-03-12 16:33:48

Last Update: 2023-03-10 18:47:37