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BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
A7
Bill would allow stations to expand self-service gas in Oregon
By Mark Miller
Oregon Capital Bureau
A bill introduced in the
House would allow more gas
stations to offer self-service
pumps.
Oregon and New Jer-
sey are the only two states
in the union that don’t allow
self-service gas stations state-
wide. Oregon lawmakers
started chipping away at that
prohibition two years ago,
when they legalized self-ser-
vice in counties with popula-
tions under 40,000.
But a bill that received
a public hearing March 20
would take that a step fur-
ther, allowing any gas station
in Oregon to designate up to
a quarter of its fuel pumps for
use by customers who want
to fill their own tank.
House Bill 3194 is a com-
promise solution to a sticky
issue, explained bill sponsors
Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene,
and freshman Rep. Daniel
Bonham, R-The Dalles.
“I’ve had this idea in my
head for several years as a
possible way to give every-
one what they want,” Fahey
said. “It would protect
full-service gasoline for the
people who really strongly
want that — and there are a
lot of Oregonians that do —
and it would give the option
for self-service gas to the
people who want that. And it
would give business-owners
the choice.”
Bonham represents one
of the largest and most
sparsely populated districts
in the state. On top of that, he
drives a truck for work, with
a service area that ranges into
Washington.
Both Bonham and Fahey
drive vehicles that let them
take advantage of less-
er-known gaps in Oregon’s
ban on self-service. Bon-
ham’s truck runs on die-
sel, which drivers can
pump themselves because
it’s classified separately
from gasoline. Operators of
motorcycles and motorized
scooters, like Fahey, are
allowed to pump their own
fuel as well.
Bonham and Fahey said
they enjoy that convenience,
and they want to extend it to
motorists regardless of what
they drive.
“I think all of us have
experienced a time when
we’ve pulled up to the gas
station and the attendants
were very busy,” Bonham
said.
Even with the choice, he
would still use full-service
sometimes, Bonham said.
But he added, “For the times
when I felt like I was in a
hurry, if there was a pump
available, I would love to
have that quick access.”
Full-service gas sta-
tions were once common-
place across the country, but
self-service came into vogue
in the 1970s, and full-service
stations are now rare outside
Oregon and New Jersey.
Fahey and Bonham said
they don’t want to do away
with full service altogether.
“I really don’t want any-
body to lose their work over
allowing for self-service,”
Bonham said. “And I think
the majority of people still
like full-service gas.”
“Part of the reason for
the 25 percent number is
because you still have to
have someone who is out,
who is dispensing gas,”
Fahey said. “That would
mitigate the potential job
losses.”
But Fahey also noted that
many business owners are
having trouble hiring.
“If we’re going to make
a change that might have
some potential for some
small job loss, now would
be the time to do it, because
the unemployment rate is so
low,” Fahey said.
At the hearing, state Rep.
Rob Nosse, D-Portland,
argued against self-service
gas.
“While some people
may not view these jobs as
glamorous careers, it’s hon-
est, entry-level work where
people employed doing this
work can build a work ethic
and acquire the basic skills
needed to succeed in a work
environment,” Nosse said.
Nosse voted to allow
self-service in low-popula-
tion counties in 2017 because
he saw it as a safety issue, he
said, but he sees HB 3194
differently.
“What I really think is
that something quirky and
charming about our state
would be lost with this bill,”
Nosse said. “Oregon would
lose part of its culture, part
of what makes this state
unique.”
Rep. Susan McLain,
D-Forest Grove, said she
agrees with Nosse, but she
appreciates that the bill
would preserve the full-ser-
vice option.
“Really and truly, there
are people who can pump
gas and people who can’t do
it, and there are people who
are of the age they shouldn’t
be doing it,” McLain said. “I
think it’s important for us to
be there for everybody where
they are at any skill level,
even that of pumping gas.”
State Sen. Brian Boquist,
R-Dallas, said he likes the
idea of leaving it up to gas
station owners as to whether
they will allow self-ser-
vice. Limiting self-service
to a quarter of the pumps is
“more than an adequate com-
promise,” he argued.
Under HB 3194, gas sta-
tions wouldn’t be able to
charge different rates at full-
and self-service pumps. They
also wouldn’t be able to set
different business hours for
them.
“We wouldn’t necessarily
want to allow a gas station to
stay open 24 hours a day for
the self-service pumps only,”
Fahey said.
However, Boquist and
state Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-On-
tario, picked up on Nosse’s
comments about self-service
being a safety measure in
sparsely populated areas.
“This is not a question of
convenience,” Bentz said,
invoking the image of a
motorist low on gas waiting
all night in a small town for
the gas station to re-open.
Making 24-hour self-ser-
vice available on a wider
basis could improve safety
throughout Oregon, Boquist
suggested.
“The fact that you can
access fuel at various times
of the night also is just as
important in the rural por-
tions of the Willamette Val-
ley and elsewhere,” Boquist
said. “I would just encour-
age people … to have an
open mind on this particular
matter.”
Legislature’s top personnel executive retires amid sexual harassment controversy
Christopher will receive $12,000 per
month until September to work from home
By Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
The Legislature’s top personnel
executive, embroiled in the sexual
harassment controversy at the Cap-
itol, has retired but will draw more
than $12,000 a month until Septem-
ber to work from home.
Lore Christopher, 64, negotiated
a retirement agreement last fall in
which she agreed to step down as
director of human resources at the
Legislature.
She formally retired Jan. 1. She
remained acting director until her
replacement started March 11.
Christopher declined an inter-
view and didn’t respond to most
written questions from a reporter
about her departure.
As human resources direc-
tor, Christopher was a key contact
for people reporting harassment or
other workplace problems at the
Capitol.
She was identified in a state
investigation of harassment at the
Capitol as one of the officials who
failed to react fully to complaints.
The state Bureau of Labor and
Industries reported that in at least
one instance Christopher advised an
employee complaining of harass-
ment to stay mum.
The harassment investigation
disrupted the early days of the 2019
Legislature, capped with legislative
leaders agreeing to pay $1 million
to nine people who asserted they
had been harassed at the Capitol.
As part of the settlement, legisla-
tive leaders agreed to shift respon-
sibility for harassment claims away
from Christopher’s office to a new
office.
Jessica Knieling, previously the
deputy human resources officer for
the state Department of Adminis-
trative Services, joined the Legisla-
ture as its interim director of human
resources March 11.
Christopher’s departure and
Knieling’s employment were
announced to legislative employ-
ees in a March 7 email but no pub-
lic statement was issued about the
change.
The terms of Christopher’s
retirement were outlined in a four-
page agreement obtained this week
by the Oregon Capital Bureau.
She signed the deal on Sept. 11,
2018. The contract said that she
would retire by year’s end but con-
tinue as the acting director until a
replacement was hired.
She agreed to “a home office
base, performing work as assigned”
using a state-provided laptop com-
puter, according to the document
She was tasked with what were
described as special projects,
including a pay study of seven leg-
islative jobs, implementing new
pay equity standards for legislative
employees, and providing help with
two pending lawsuits against the
Legislature.
Christopher also agreed not to
sue the state for age discrimination,
a provision neither Christopher nor
legislative leaders would explain.
The agreement said she would
be paid $12,116 a month — her
pay rate as human resources direc-
tor — through August for a total of
$96,928 in 2019.
Nearly a month after agreeing to
retire, Christopher shared the news
with certain legislative offices and
officials, including top economists
and political staff.
“It has been a pleasure to work
with you for more than 22 years
as human resources director and
it’s hard to believe that many years
have gone by. I’m honored to have
spent them with you,” she wrote in
an Oct. 5 email.
Her retirement deal was struck
one month after then-Labor Com-
missioner Brad Avakian filed his
complaint against legislative offi-
cials that included references to
conduct by Christopher.
The commissioner’s complaint
centered on the Legislature’s han-
dling of harassment allegations by
colleagues and two interns against
former state Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Rose-
burg Republican who resigned in
March 2018. It also cited other alle-
gations of harassment in the Capi-
tol, including from two unidentified
employees, including one Avakian
identified only as Employee A.
Audrey Mechling, a former
staffer in the House, later publicly
identified herself as that worker.
She received a part of the settlement
announced March 5.
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