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Self-serve gas will be legal in Oregon when governor signs bill

Oregon to Allow Self-Serve Gas

Oregon lawmakers voted to enter the self-service era last week and Gov. Tina Kotek is expected to sign the bill.

For the last 72 years, most Oregonians have been largely banned from pumping their own gas. Back in 1951, legislators worried about fire safety and maintaining gas station attendant jobs.

The bill won’t put all of Oregon’s gas station attendants out of work. Stations in Oregon’s most populous counties still have to employ an attendant and offer full-service fueling — all with no difference in price.

The bill simply enables those gas stations to designate up to half their pumps as “self-serve.” In more rural counties, gas station attendants are already less common.

A couple of years later, that law was expanded to allow self-service, all hours, in all rural counties.

Oregon’s self-service ban has been odd since it first appeared. For example, you’ve always been allowed to pump your own diesel. Farmers, truck drivers and anyone using a special card to access a commercial station have also been allowed to serve themselves.

If Kotek signs the self-service bill into law, there will be even fewer gas pump infractions for the fire marshals to punish.