Awaiting Governor Kotek's Signature is HJB 2426 sponsored by Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Tangent) and Julie Fahey (D-Junction City) which will allow self-serve gas in Oregon. The bill requires that notification signs be posted stating which gas pumps are designated for self-service and which are designated for attended service and requires at least one person to be able to provide attended service and for price charged to be identical.

Oregon is one of two states, including New Jersey, that restricts self-service dispensing of gasoline at retail fueling 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-service fuel dispensing 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.

In 2015, the Legislature passed HB 3011 which 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, during the 2017 regular session, the Legislature passed HB 2482 which eliminated the time-of-day restrictions and limited the applicability only to small counties in eastern Oregon.

Now, House Bill 2426 allows retail fueling stations to operate up to half of their pumps as self-service dispensing devices.

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

The testimony during the Legislative Committee hearings was mixed. Mike Freese of the Oregon Fuels Association said that the bill "has overwhelming public support. It is no secret that Oregon has unique gas fueling laws. Nevertheless, as explained by gas station owners, finding employees to pump gas is extremely hard – and even impossible in some cases – which in turn makes it impossible to keep gas stations open and operating. HB 2426 helps relieve pressure in this tight labor market, while preserving the choice to fuel your own vehicle or opt for an attendant to fuel the vehicle."

There were contrary voices. Brandon Venable of Pendleton said, "I’m a manager at a fuel station in Oregon and I oppose self serve. I deal with many dangerous situations on the daily created by people smoking, leaving their engines running, getting in and out of their vehicles creating static electricity, trying to fill up random bottles and jugs and driving off with the pump still in the vehicle. For someone who spends 10 minutes at a gas station this may not seem like something that is dangerous but when you deal with this for 8 plus hours a day it’s reality. Us as attendants do a lot for our customers and keeping everyone safe is a main goal. Selecting half of our pumps won’t speed the process of fueling up it will just add frustration and confusion to long lines of people that aren't concerned with the cars behind them."

Kathy Lincoln of Keizer submitted, "HB 2426 is a bad idea. There is no reason to change the current status of help at service stations. Service stations provide jobs to many people who may not find jobs elsewhere. Contrary to the complaint of the Oregon Fuels Association, we have never had an issue with lack of help at service stations. In my experience, workers are courteous, helpful and obviously, earning a living. Who are the beneficiaries of this bill? Certainly not the general driving public, nor the currently employed gas station attendants."

She continued, "This bill will result in all gas stations in Oregon becoming self-serve, which is a DIS-service to the disabled, seniors, and those who do not want to arrive at their destination smelling like gasoline.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-07-02 15:52:03

Last Update: 2023-07-02 16:23:41