This spring, my wife and I ably filled our car’s gas tank at service stations around the West: Winnemucca and Tonopah, Nevada … Kingman and Phoenix, Arizona … Bakersfield, Fresno and Redding, California … Tacoma, Lacey and Tumwater, Washington …

And Boardman, Oregon. 

Will self-serve gas for all willing Oregonians become the norm?

Gov. Tina Kotek will decide. Like me, she is a longtime Oregonian but came of driving age in a state with self-service gasoline.

Some pundits and politicians act as if Oregon’s expansion of self-serve is a done deal.

Maybe. Kotek has not said whether she will sign House Bill 2426, allow it to become law without her signature or veto it. Instead, she invited Oregonians to weigh in. The bill had bipartisan support in the recently concluded legislative session. And bipartisan opposition.

“I have not made a commitment either way on that bill. Of the 300-plus bills, I have to look at them, consider all the testimony,” Kotek said during a wide-ranging press conference on June 28. “If you have an opinion about that bill or any other bill, please let me know. I have 30 days in which to either sign or veto the bill.” 

She added: “This is a big decision. For a lot of people, this means a lot, so I hope they’re going to let me know. And I will take that into account when I make my decision.”

(Here is the link for commenting to the governor.)

The governor’s staff said she has received more than 4,000 emails on HB 2426. As of this writing, the comments are almost evenly split – 2,094 favoring the bill and 2,013 opposing it. 

A Junction City resident implored: “Please sign the self-serve gas bill. Gas stations in my town always have pumps blocked off ‘due to staffing shortages.’ I would rather they open those pumps up for self-service.” 

An Aloha resident said: “There are a lot of issues, but I would like to discuss the least controversial in my opinion: pumping one’s own gas. Today, I once again waited in line at a gas station for over 10 minutes. The station has 8 pumps capable of filling 16 vehicles simultaneously; however, only 8 were available due to manpower shortage. If I could have pumped my own gas (which I believe I am well-qualified to do, having pumped my gas throughout the rest of the country and Europe), there would have been no wait.”

A Turner resident told Kotek: “As a 65-year-old native Oregonian, I never wanted to see our state adopt this; however, employment hiring is hard and won’t get better for the foreseeable future, so I think it is necessary. By the way, I am a Republican and am pleasantly surprised to find myself approving of your work so far.”

And from Corvallis: “As a current college student that has lived her whole life in Oregon, it took me a few years after I got my license to learn how to pump my own gas. Once I learned, I never wanted someone to pump my car’s gas again.”

On the other hand …

A Portland resident wrote: “I’m writing to ask that you veto HB 2426 for two reasons, one compelling and the other personal. The compelling reason was articulated to me by a service station employee who hauntingly asked me, ‘What about people like me (meaning low-skilled, challenged, uneducated)? What are they (government) going to do with people like me?’ The personal reason is that I like how Oregonians are somewhat an outlier compared to the rest of the country.”

A Bend resident agreed: “One thing that makes Oregon special, and I’d argue, safer, is the ban on self-service gas. It makes Oregon a more-friendly place as everyone from tourists to locals depend on gas stations. It employs people in a capacity that doesn’t require a college education, or even high school education or GED. And, from my experience, it is a big plus on the side of safety, for not only disabled and elderly people, but all ages and genders. … I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been hassled at gas stations from California and Washington to Florida, Texas and Maine.”

A Philomath resident opined: “In my 44 years in the state, I have appreciated not smelling like gas after I fill up my car. Non-self-service provides a supervisory function for the safe dispensing of fuel. It provides employment. And, if gas stations are required to abide by fuel parity pricing, being able to sell fuel without the labor cost is just a windfall for the operator.” 

From Lake Oswego: “Add me to the number of constituents (I’m a Democrat) who urge you to VETO HB 2426, allowing self-serve gas. I do not want to pump my own gas, and I don’t want to track down the few gas pumps that will have an attendant. I believe that the people of Oregon have voted on this before, haven’t we? (Or maybe I’m thinking of the sales tax?)”

Indeed, Oregonians have voted more often on a sales tax, always saying “no.” But yes, 57.6% of Oregon voters opposed a 1982 ballot measure that asked, “Shall persons other than service station operators/employes [sic] be allowed to pump gasoline and other vehicle fuels for retail sale?”

By 2001, polling found majority support among Oregonians for allowing self-service. Just as the Legislature created discrete sales taxes without calling them that, lawmakers also gradually chipped away at our 1951 ban on self-serve. Motorcyclists, motorists in some rural counties, and others gained the right, as did drivers in 25 counties during last July’s heat wave.

HB 2426 allows every gas station to have at least as many self-serve pumps as full-service ones. Currently, stations in Clatsop, Curry and Tillamook counties may offer self-service from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Most counties in Eastern Oregon counties, including Morrow, may have self-service at any hour.

At a major-brand station in Boardman, I filled the tank on May 3 while covering Gov. Kotek’s One Oregon Listening Tour. I’m comfortable pumping gas, but it’s not always faster. The pump initially refused the gas credit card I’ve had since 1979. Afterward, a receipt wasn’t available at the pump; I would have had to go inside and ask the clerk for one.

I started driving in the era when a gallon of gasoline cost a bit more than an Arctic Circle burger and the price sometimes ended in less than nine-tenths of a cent. To attract business, operators gave glassware and antenna balls as rewards for fill-ups. Attendants washed the car windows and checked the oil; gas stations were car repair shops, not convenience stores.

Times change. Regardless of what happens with self-serve, let’s end the asinine nine-tenths of a penny pricing and require round numbers at the gas pump.