This week, Oregonians from the Pacific to the Owyhee have been breathlessly awaiting the news: Will they be able to determine their own fates, and to choose whether they pump their own gas, or not? In what one might have thought was a pretty straightforward bill that a governor might otherwise not think twice about signing, Oregon’s bill around pumping your own gas was something a bit more complicated. As of this writing, Gov. Tina Kotek has yet to sign the bill that would make it possible for Oregonians to pump their own gas all around the state. (Some rural areas have already enjoyed that “luxury.”) The governor has until Aug. 3 to sign the bill, and in spite of plenty of waffling, she appears poised to make House Bill 2426 the law.
The hubbub around this issue has been something to watch. Who knew that a bill that effectively allows Oregonians to pump gas would be so contentious?
This summer, Gov. Kotek asked Oregonians to weigh in: do they support the bill’s signing, or not? About half of the roughly 4,000 people who shared their thoughts with Kotek’s office said they supported the move to end the ban on self-service gas, according to a report by KOIN 6. The other half, of course, said they wanted things to stay the same.
To be sure, Oregonians have strong opinions on this issue. Some shudder at the thought of leaving their cars in the wintertime in order to gas up. Others despise the waiting they have to do at the pump. Ask the former to listen to the perspective of the latter and you’re likely to have quite a raucous debate. Obviously, the way one pumps their gas – or doesn’t – is among a myriad of topics that can divide families and groups of friends.
Perhaps those who are so ardently against one position or the other should be reminded of this: HB 2426 is about choice, and in other realms, Oregonians have embraced the notion of choice.
Don’t like pumping your own gas? You still don’t have to. The bill’s language allows gas stations to designate up to half of their pumps as self-serve – which means that the other half can still be full-serve. The rub with that? Gas stations could very well charge more for the full-serve option. [Clarification: through higher gas prices overall.] What’s more, some worry that gas station jobs will go by the proverbial wayside.
It’s still to be seen whether your prices at the pump will go up due to opting for self-service gas, or will go down because the stations no longer have to employ quite so many people. Or maybe neither. Oil companies base prices on a host of factors.
Whatever the result of the Great Pump War of 2023 brings, at least it comes with choices.
This article appears in Source Weekly August 3rd, 2023.
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In other words, THE SOURCE EDITORIAL BOARD has never been to the Owyhee. Self serve has been legal there since 2018, and in Jordan Valley and other places like that, almost everyone pumps their own gas. ‘sounds like they don’t even spend much time in Jefferson County. Stations in Madras and other places there have had designated self serve pumps for years.
“The rub with that? Gas stations could very well charge more for the full-serve option” It would have been nice for the Editorial Board to read HB 2426 before commenting on it. Charging more remains illegal under the bill.
Jane: People in the Owyhee still travel out of the Owhyee. To your other comment, we’ve added a clarification to the piece.
No, they can’t charge more for full service. But they can, and should, give a discount for self service. Businesses that accept credit cards are not allowed to charge more for credit purchases (per the master agreement with the credit card company) but they are allowed to offer discounts for cash. Same with full-serve vs self-serve gasoline. Those of us who can pump our own gas should be saving at least 25 cents a gallon. That we aren’t is just another example of the incompetence of the Oregon legislature and governor.