NJ Gas Ban Gets a Challenger

A proposed bill in New Jersey could give the state's drivers more choice at the gas pump. Assembly member Declan O'Scanlon is pushing legislation that could lift the state's ban on self-serve gas.

Since 1949, it's been illegal to pump your own gas in New Jersey. Some of the state's resident's like it that way. But O'Scanlon says there are a growing number of complaints from people who say the ban is inconvenient. And he says the issue's getting heated.

"It's amazing the level of passion, on both sides, that this issue has brought out," O'Scanlon said. "Plenty of people want to be able to pump their own gas and are irritated they can't. There's also plenty of people that like full service."

So, O'Scanlon's proposing a compromise. His bill would decriminalize self-serve gas. But, it'd require stations to have at least one full-service pump.