I recently relocated to New Jersey from New Mexico and one of the odd things I discovered about this state is that self service at the gas station is outlawed. I discovered this the hard way when a recent trip to the gas station took 30 minutes when it normally would have taken half the time. I did a little research and discovered the origins of this law to be an archaic need to have a "professional" perform this duty for safety reasons. Is there any reason why this law should still stand? Why are the drivers of NJ forced to subsidize useless work? Is there a study supporting the existence of this law? If there is, can you please direct me to it? Also, if there is a study and this law provides a net benefit, then why is it not law in other states? (Other than OR, where I have also experienced this frustration.) Finally, I am certain that I am not the only person frustrated by this law, so are there any plans in the future to repeal it?Here's the reply:
Thank you for your email. The issue of self service at gas stations has been before the Senate for the past two sessions. Due to the overwhelming majority of residents in the State such as the elderly, disabled, etc. this measure did not receive the support it needed to even come out of committee. The reasons given by the individuals and groups opposing this bill had nothing to do with the argument in your email. At least for the present and the foreseeable future, there probably will not be self service in New Jersey.Now this blew me away. Evidently it's because the majority of New Jerseyans LIKE this law because they are either elderly, or disabled, or both! The obvious reply to this was given by me:
I'm sorry, but maybe I'm misunderstanding. Are the overwhelming majority of citizens in NJ elderly and disabled?To which the rather terse reply was:
Also, if this measure passed, what would keep stations from operating some pumps as full service? If the overwhelming majority of NJ favors the current law, then it seems to me that gas stations would naturally operate some pumps as self and some as full serve - everybody wins.
Could you direct me to information regarding this measure? Information such as who the sponsors were, what the bill's content was, who were the primary opponents and what were their arguments. Is this issue wildly unpopular, as you imply? Or is a vocal minority the driving force behind its death in committee?
Yes you are misunderstanding. A large portion of the population of New Jersey are senior citizens who are adamant about not having self-service gas stations in New Jersey. There has been no support from any group or groups as to this proposal. There were 2 bills, both by Senator Gerald Cardinale. The bill in the 2000-2001 sessions was S1259. The bill for the 2002-2003 sessions was S1088. He was the only sponsor and the bills never left committee. You can obtain copies of the bills by either calling the bill room at the State House at 1-800-792-8630 or 292-4840 or logging on to the New Jersey State Legislature Web Site: www.njleg.state.nj.usEvidently, I don't understand that the "overwhelming majority" of New Jerseyans are indeed elderly and disabled. Although she does qualify it in this message by changing "overwhelming majority" to "a large portion". Right now, the real devils in keeping this idiotic law are the lobbyists for the elderly (or elderly lobbyists, or both?) and disabled, as well as plain ol' inertia. NJ has lower gas prices than the nation as a whole anyway because all the refineries are in this state, so we pay less transportation cost. This serves to hide the the fact that we could be getting really cheap gas - more importantly, however, gas station owners wouldn't have this additional regulation on their back. Any gas stop in NJ and you can see that the business is different because of this law - nobody goes in for coffee or a snack so this is reducing business in that regard.
Old people - not content to stick me with the bill for SocSec, now I have this problem to deal with. I'm currently contacting the bill's sponsor to see what's goin' on. Keep everyone posted.
2 comments:
Wow, those responses seem quite discouraging. It's a good thing that you've decided to pursue this. The argument in your response making the point about why wouldn't gas stations have full serve in addition to selve serve is more than valid. It is beyond stupid that the "elderly" lobby doesn't want to let anyone pump their own damn gas. That excuse is just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The sad reality is that this archaic and silly law is most likely due to employment concerns, the lawmakers wanting to keep as many people employed as possible, a noble goal but swerves from reality when pointless jobs are created in order to force said goal.
At least you're trying to do something useful. The minion who replied to you was probably as helpful as she knows how to be. She might actually believe that full-service only actually helps the old and disabled (all though there probably isn't much logic that goes into that belief). The sadder part is that I doubt any old or disabled people actually came up with the idea that not allowing everyone else to pump their own gas is better for the old and disabled. No doubt it was some slippery tounged socialist who convinced the lobbies to oppose self-serve. Possibly NJ should consider a law to ban all self serve grocery stores. After all, it would be better for the elderly and disabled if everyone had to have their groceries delivered to their houses.
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