Fueling stations in eastern Oregon could offer self-service gas around the clock under a measure that passed the Oregon House 56-0 Thursday.
Related: Bill Would Give Rural Oregon Gas Stations Self-Service Option
For decades, Oregon and New Jersey were the only states that banned most drivers from pumping their own fuel.
Two years ago, Oregon lawmakers backed away from that ban, but only for rural counties and only at night. The idea was to prevent drivers from getting stranded in a small town where the only station had closed for the day.
The new law would allow those rural stations to offer self-serve around the clock.
Democratic Rep. Paul Evans of Salem said his "yes" vote shouldn't be construed as an endorsement of allowing self-serve statewide.
"I just want to be very clear with anybody who tries to turn this vote into something it's not: This is about making sure that folks who don't have other options have the opportunity to get fuel and are not stranded, period," he said.
The bill would primarily apply to all of Oregon east of the Cascades. That means gas stations along I-84 from Hood River eastward could offer self-serve gas at any time of the day, although they wouldn't be required to.
For drivers in those communities who still want a station employee to pump their gas, the bill would require stations offer that service between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The measure's sponsor, Republican Cliff Bentz of Ontario, said drivers in that situation "can honk the horn, yell out the window. But someone's gotta come out."
A separate provision in the bill would continue to allow self-service gas in three coastal counties — Clatstop, Tillamook and Curry — but only between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The law banning self-service gas stations in Oregon has been on the books since the early 1950s. Voters affirmed the ban in 1982, when they rejected an initiative to overturn it by a 58-42 percent margin.
Democratic Rep. Phil Barnhart of Eugene said during the debate on the House floor that the ban is "a marital issue" for him.
"When my wife drives to California, and has to stop to fuel there, I hear about it later because she has to pump her own gas and she very much dislikes that," said Barnhart. "And so I'm pleased to hear the bill covers only the lightly populated counties."
The measure now heads to the Oregon Senate for consideration.
