By: Sarah Johnson
This week we’ll take a Closer Look at a bill out of Illinois, the Gas Station Attendant Act. This short bill has caused quite a stir online, but brought to light an interesting tactic legislators use to try to get publicity surrounding issues their constituents care about.
The Bill.
Representative Camille Lilly, a Chicago Democrat, proposed the Gas Station Attendant Act after meeting with her constituents. During her meeting, she said constituents voiced concerns about the raising unemployment rate within their community. Lilly said the purpose of this bill was an attempt to create new jobs via making a new job category available to the people of Illinois, gas station attendants.
IL HB4571 has just three short sections:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Gas Station Attendant Act.
Section 5. Pumping gas. No gas may be pumped at a gas station in this State unless it is pumped by a gas station attendant employed at the gas station.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2021.
Currently, only two states restrict people from gas pumping at the station, New Jersey and Oregon. New Jersey is the only state that still outright forbids motorists from self-pumping gas at all gas stations throughout the state. Oregon changed their law in 2018 from a complete ban (aside from some late night rural exceptions) to allowing motorists to pump their own fuel in select circumstances. If the station is a stand-alone gas station and in a county with fewer than 40,000 residents, people are allowed to pump their own gas. If a station does not fit the requirements, gas station attendants are still required be employed to pump gas for Oregon motorists.
Oregon’s ban on self-service gas pumps dated back to 1951. These bans were introduced because states used to be concerned that untrained pump operators would spill fuel. But, in the last 70 years, as technology and design have progressed, gas stations and pumps have become much safer and easier to use. Most states which had laws like these have abandoned them. Although New Jersey has kept their regulation relating to pumping the same, Oregon moved to loosen its restriction due to its mostly irrelevant reasoning in the 21st century.
The Response.
As one can imagine, this bill elicited a strong response from the public and many of the businesses that would be impacted by this legislation if passed.
First, many people pointed out that gas stations are not simply a spot where people go to refuel their cars, they are convenience stores, restaurants, car washes, and more. Gas stations rely on the revenue from meals, snacks, beverages, cigarettes, lottery tickets, and whatever else people may fancy, on top of revenues recognized from fuel sale. Removing the incentive to get out of your car would impact the traffic inside the station and sales of these items, thus negatively impacting gas stations’ revenue.
Second, there are two major financial implications. Gas stations would have to hire and employ all of the attendants that would legally be required to pump gas at their stations. The cost of interviewing, hiring, and employing these attendants many believe would be passed on to consumers via higher gas prices. There also would be a cost associated with ensuring stations complied with the regulations that would be imposed upon the state and have to be funded by state tax revenue.
Third, the original reason for having these types of laws has a weak foundation in 2020. Forty-eight other states allow people to fuel their cars with limited incident every year.
The Fallout.
After the heavy backlash to the bill, Lilly issued the following statement on regarding HB4571:
“House Bill 4571 is concept legislation to create safety and convenience at the pump. House Bill 4571 is not intended to pass as is. The intention of this bill is to give consumers the option to be serviced by a gas station attendant, in addition to the self-service option currently used. House Bill 4571 could potentially create jobs that impact the local economy. The input we receive is very valuable to help shape House Bill 4571 into legislation the people of Illinois desire.”
After releasing this statement, Lilly chose to table the bill, saying that the “concept legislation” needed to be rewritten based upon feedback around the state. Concept legislation can also be known as a “fetcher” bill. According to Ditmar Walker, the reason legislators introduce these “fetcher” bills is usually not to have them enacted, but to generate a response from the public and the affected industries.
Although Lilly’s proposal was perceived as very unlikely to succeed from the get-go, it sparked an interesting conversation. Concept legislation is often proposed to try to spark a conversation about an issue. Lilly’s suggestion provided an opportunity for people to consider and discuss what policies and programs governments should research and implement to create sustainable, good-paying jobs to help communities who are worried about unemployment rates.
Photo by Marc Schiele on Unsplash