The Oregon House Passed a bill on Monday, 20 March 2023, to make it legal for people all over the state to pump their gas.
The state has a lot of opposition because of this issue, and it has a long way to go before it can be passed into law.
The Senate will have its first reading of House Bill 2426 on Tuesday, 21 March 2023. If the Senate approves it, it still needs to be signed into law by Governor Tina Kotek.
Since 1951, Oregon has prohibited unattended gas pumps, with limited exceptions made during pandemics and extreme heat.
Members of both parties in the legislature have argued that this issue is far more than filling petrol tanks.
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Currently, self-serve is only permitted between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in Clatsop, Curry, and Tillamook counties if there is no nearby convenience shop. Except for Umatilla, Deschutes, and Klamath, counties east of the Cascades likewise provide this choice.
Shelley Boshart Davis says about Self Serve Gas Bill via the Facebook page, which is given below-
Some jobs would be preserved if the choice of a gas attendant was maintained.
As written, the law would mandate that gas stations in 16 counties set aside at least half of their pumps for self-service and leave the other half for use with an attendant. There are 18 of them: Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill.
Legislators counter that the impact wouldn’t be as severe due to the current employment crisis.
Yet, some legislators expressed concern that the program may be eliminated if the state cuts the number of people employed at the pumps.
“[I] fear that if we move to a fully self-service state, that people with disabilities, people who don’t feel safe at gas stations at night would have to get out of their cars and, really, just that uncertainty,” said Rep. Jami Cate, R-Lebanon.
The final House tally on Monday was 47-10, with three members absent.
Source- opb.org
