Oregon is that way, too. I never understood it. I won't ever vacation there because of that.
New Jersey's gasoline prices are still cheaper than the surrounding states so if you don't want to go into a meeting smelling of gasoline, it's not such a bad thing. Having the gas pumps attended probably doesn't cost much. I doubt they pay these kids a lot -- and it's probably not a bad first job for a kid to have on a resume -- it shows that they can show up for work on time without getting fired and handle money.
They'd also need to double the number of gas pumps in the state to have both self and full service islands.
There are a lot of stupid things that I need to put up with living in New Jersey but I don't mind this one.
The other side of this is that it is legal in NJ to pump your own diesel. The problem with that is that not all 'gas' station jockeys know that so when I pull in with my VW TDI and try to pump my own diesel I get a ration of feces from the 'attendants'..
Now, granted there are advantages to having the kiddies at the pump fill up your diesel tank if you want to avoid smelling like a truck but most gaspumpingkids think that you you turn the pump on 'force feed', er, full speed, after all it works for gasoline, er gasahol.. Problem with that is that Number 2 foams. If you want a full tank instead of a half tank of diesel and a half tank of foam, you pump it yourself... ;-)
It figures that it was a Democrap that introduced this bag bill.. Totally in character...