(The Horrors of the new) Oregon Gas laws!

Capitalist Chicks DOT COM ^ | FR Post 9-5-2 | Debbie Brannigan

[vannrox]

AMAZING!

[Johnny Gage]

Places to visit:
Oregon - Another one off the list.
I bet the gas stations in Vancouver WA will be getting a whole lot more Portland residents buying gas there!

Welcome to the Communist Republic of Oregon!

[Boonie Rat]

Tar and feathers is a viable form of communication.

Boonie Rat

MACV SOCOM, PhuBai/Hue '65-'66

[taxcontrol]

I seem to remember from my improvised munitions class in the Army that a 5lbs bag of ordinary household sugar contains more explosive potiential that 5 gallons of gas. Perhaps the next thing we will see is the grocery clerk being "licensed"?

[Who dat?]

Yes, and it’s been that way for at least 25 years too. I think New Jersey also had a similar law once.

But you can’t fault the legislature for the high fuel taxes. The Oregon voters had their hand in that.

When I lived there 15 years ago, the legislature proposed a $0.05/gal tax to pay for road maintenance. It was to be phased in two cents the first year, two cents the second year, and one cent on the third and final year.

It had to pass by 60% of voters to become law, IIRC. It passed. It turns out that it requires 60% vote to become law, but once it becomes law the legislature can extend it unilaterally. They did. I left years ago but I don’t think they ever reached the third and final year of the gas tax phase-in. They just extended it at two cents the third year, another two cents the fourth year, another two cents the fifth year, etc…

There is no sales tax though – at least when I was there, so she should be grateful.

[r9etb]

You know, there are a lot more important things than this to get worked up about.

It's actually kinda nice to have somebody pump your gas and clean the windshield.

And gas prices in OR aren't appreciably different from those elsewhere.

BTW, Ms. Brannigan is completely incorrect when she says it has not been quite a decade since this law was imposed.... It's been that way for at least 30 years.

Sounds like those capitalist chicks need to go back and find something important to PMS about.

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

I hate to tell Ms. Brannigan this but, this Gas Law is not new.
In fact, it is at least 30 years old. And just about every year, some group get a referendum put on the ballots to do away with this stupid law, and every year the voters vote it down. Another reason why I no longer live in Oregon.

[Random Access]

Yea, yea, yea. Politics and all that crap aside, it is nice to have someone pump the gas, clean the windshield, check the oil and tires. It reminds me of the old days when the word "service" in "service station" had meaning.

Last Saturday I cracked up when I saw a bride, in full wedding dress, at a gas station pumping her own gas. Oh, for the good old days, when the winters were milder, summers cooler and everyone I knew, including me, was younger.

[aimhigh]

In Oregon, we don't have to get gasoline on our hands. We don't have to get out of our cars in the rian and snow to go inside and pay the bill. And we don't pay any more for gas than those who do.

[Constitution Day]

I think it's the law in New Jersey, too.

[rwfok]

Do they follow you home and fill your lawn mower for you?

[EricT.]

I have a friend that owns a gas station along I-5. He absolutely hates Oregonians that come in and get mad because he does not run out and fill up for them. They have to be instructed on how these complicated dispensing devices operate.

Does lack of freedom spawn laziness or vice-versa?

[jackbill]

I think New Jersey also had a similar law once.

The law is still in effect in New Jersey.

[walkingdead]

Of course the real question is how much extra tax is Oregon paying to train "fuel dispensing experts"?

[triggerhappy]

In the old days you had the freedom to choose between Self Serve or Full Serve, that's the point.
I travel from Washington to The People's Republic of Fruits and Nuts from time to time and nothing irritates me more than not being able to pump my own gas.

[genefromjersey]

NJ has a similar law : guess what ?

We pay less for gasoline and get something that ( occasionally ) resembles service !

[plain talk]

10a) The significantly higher prices typically charged for full-service fuel dispensing in states where self service is permitted at retail discriminates against customers with lower incomes, who are under greater economic pressure to subject themselves to the inconvenience and hazards of self-service.

This is the one that got me. So everyone pays a premium for Full service which hurts the poor more because they have less money and have no choice. Those people in Oregon who put this in place are complete idiots.

[MPB]

As a resident of Washington, I make sure that everytime I have to drive through Oregon, I do the following:

When southbound on I-5, I gas up in Vancouver, WA.

When northbound on I-5 (coming from California), I just gas up in Yreka.

I get to enjoy the fast service of pumping my own gas, paying at the pump, and scooting on out ASAP, and prices are generally lower.

On the few occasions when I failed to plan well ahead, I had to stop at an Oregon station, and it's always a pain in the butt. One time, there was only one attendant trying to pump gas on 8 stations, and it was busy... the poor fella is running around and he really did a lousy job keeping track of who was first. I had to wait about 10 minutes (no, I'm NOT kidding), but had little choice because I was running on fumes (I was about 10 miles from the Idaho border and thought I could make it... but decided I better not chance it).

I got out of my car, opened the gas tank, had my card ready to pay, even put the pump in my car. But that's all I could do... all the guy had to do was come over and actually pull the handle, lock it in place and then move on... I'd done everything else for him, but squeezing that trigger is the one thing I couldn't do.

Heaven forbid I actually initiate the process that begins the flow of gasoline! I don't know if a swarm of police, or black helicopers, would descend on me... But still, just putting the pump in my tank raised a few eyebrows among the local Oregonians who have been brainwashed the past few years...

It's sad when politicians decide to treat us all like idiots.

And yeah, on a trip in NJ last year, I did the same thing, gassing up in NY and Deleware on my trip through the wonderful "Garden State" (which was odd... looking around, NJ seemed more like the "concrete and asphalt state", but then I was trapped on the NJ turnpike for about 2 hours to go 5 miles).

Curiously, my friends from Oregon seem to have no problem whatsoever pumping their own gas when they go out of state.

[Sandy]

But can you pull into a gas station, get your gas, and be on your way in less than 60 seconds? Doubt it.

[Tax Government]

Many people in Oregon were put out of work in the 70s when the lumber industry collapsed. The gas law helped them stay employed in their own communities.