The Oregon Senate voted on June 21 to end a 72-year-long bill which required all gas stations to be serviced by attendants by a vote of 16-9. 
The bill, if signed, would end Oregon’s position as one of two states that prohibit drivers from filling their own cars with gas. It guarantees attendant-serviced gas will still be optional for customers, as half of available pumps at gas stations will be serviced by an attendant.
“I know that the new law they’re trying to provide is more of an option for people to get self service for themselves if that’s what they choose to do,” said Tia, a gas station owner at an Oregon Texaco branch in Clackamas County. “Because half of the pumps have to be available to customers for self-service, you still have a gas attendant to provide some services. So, I think that’s an okay option.”
House Bill 2426 passed in the Oregon House on March 20 by a vote of 47-10. The bill has large bipartisan support, with both Democrats and Republicans voting for and against the bill. It would require that gas stations designate the same number of self-service gas pumps as attended service gas pumps.
According to its supporters, House Bill 2426 would partially remove the requirement of gas stations, especially in rural counties, to hire attendants. Oregon previously allowed some eastern Oregon counties to fully offer self-serviced gas, and some coastal Oregon counties to provide self-serviced gas between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, self-serviced gas was temporarily prohibited in rural counties.
The newfound potential of Oregonians being able to pump their own gas has caught on, however; 63% of Oregonians voted in favor of allowing self-serviced gas in a 2021 poll.
Critics state the bill is overcomplicated, will cost jobs and will negatively affect those with disabilities – both drivers and gas station employees.
“I am generally supportive of this option for a variety of reasons,” Senator Sara Gelser Blouin said in a written vote explanation. “However, I cast a ‘No’ vote due to concerns that the measure does not include sufficient protections to ensure elderly and disabled Oregonians will be able to access an attendant as necessary.”
Critics of the bill point to the fact that other states, which have made attendant-serviced gas optional, have faced criticisms regarding the lack of accessibility that comes with self-serve gas for those with disabilities. 
Oregon Senate Majority Whip Lew Frederick was one of the primary opponents of the bill. The Northeast Portland state senator also submitted a vote explanation in opposition to the bill. 
“I have personally had to get out and pump gas for elderly folks in other states whom I witnessed were not able to get the assistance they were legally entitled to,” said Senator Frederick.
Representative Julie Fahey, representing west Eugene, is a chief proponent of the bill. 
“Because of these difficulties, Oregonians in many parts of the state have encountered closed pumps or long lines as they attempt to fill up,” said Rep. Fahey in a floor testimony, citing staffing challenges for gas stations in rural areas. “Giving stations the option to have some of those closed pumps be open as self-service would benefit consumers, station owners and workers.”
The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Tina Kotek, who has yet to announce a position on the bill or whether she will sign it into law.