It may have been the pandemic that started it but those getting gas in Oregon will soon be able to pump it themselves. It was the formal passing of House Bill 2426 earlier this year to legalize self-service gas statewide by the Oregon Legislature. Gov. Tina Kotek said she intends to let the bill go into effect. She has to either sign it by next week or allow it to become law without her signature. However, the deadline is Aug. 4 for her to take action.
The city and rural areas won’t be treated the same. Rules will be different in certain rural counties, where overnight self-service was legalized by a 2015 law and expanded to a 24/7 option in a 2017 update. Gas stations in rural areas are still required to offer full service as an option during daytime hours.
There are currently only two states in the U.S. that don’t allow drivers to pump their own gas. Soon there will be one. HB 2426 includes an emergency clause that will make it take effect immediately upon becoming law. Stores selling gas will be free to start offering self-service gas next weekend. The law will also prohibit fill up stations from charging different prices for full service and self service.
Attendants will continue to have a job. Also, stations that choose to offer self-service stations will still be required to offer full service on half their pumps. The bill states that stores can’t offer self-service without providing full service at the same time, e.g. a station can’t leave the pumps running for self-service overnight unless it’s also staffed for full service all night.
Many were wondering what was to become of the bill. Last week’s confirmation comes after weeks of speculation and questions about the future of the bill following the end of the legislative session in June. Kotek’s office previously declined to indicate which way the governor was leaning on the bill, and said she was still evaluating a large amount of mixed feedback about the bill from constituents.
Here are the “rural” counties that don’t have attendants: Baker, Clatsop, Crook, Curry, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco and Wheeler.
