Gas at Wawa in Egg Harbor Township in 2020.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A group of state lawmakers and a trade association just reignited one of the great New Jersey debates.

No, not whether Central Jersey exists, or if we should say pork roll or Taylor ham.

It’s whether the Garden State should eliminate its 73-year-old ban on letting people pump their own gas.

A bipartisan collection of legislators introduced a bill Monday called the “Motorist Fueling Choice and Convenience Act,” which would end New Jersey’s status as the only state left in America where self-service gasoline is illegal statewide and attendants are required to fill your tank.

The measure (A3105) wouldn’t force stations to get rid of full-service pumps. They would be permitted to offer full-serve, self-serve, or a combination.

Those with more than four pumps would be required to keep a full-serve option between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. But there would be no requirement to keep attendants at smaller stations or during other operating hours.

Stations would also be allowed, but not required, to offer self-serve customers a discount.

“Motorists in every other state are able to pump their own gas, and if a consumer wants to choose to not wait for an attendant, that choice should not be denied to them by state law,” state Assemblyman Ned Thomson, R-Monmouth, a sponsor of the proposal, said in a statement.

Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, D-Burlington, another sponsor, said the “hybrid model” would “give consumers the option to do what they prefer when it comes to filling their gas tanks, while also giving them the opportunity to save money.”

The bill is backed by the New Jersey Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association, the industry’s trade group, which estimates stations could lop off 15 cents a gallon if they’re allowed to offer self-service.

“As a station owner, I know that the self-serve option will bring my businesses significant cost savings that I can pass along to my customers,” said Kashmir Gill, a member of the group who owns multiple stations in Central Jersey.

This is the latest in a long line of efforts to drop the self-serve prohibition, all of which have failed so far.

The gas station industry, which once opposed self-serve, has lobbied for the change for years. Now, they’ve launched a campaign called Fuel Your Way NJ to push the new bill.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of the ban is the fear thousands of attendant jobs would disappear if full-service was curbed.

But supporters say the new push is necessary because gas stations are struggling with staff shortages and lost business amid the coronavirus pandemic, forcing them to block off pumps because there aren’t enough workers to man them.

It also comes as motorists are being socked with sky-high prices.

The average price in New Jersey was $3.65 a gallon as of Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association, or AAA. That’s higher than the national average of $3.61.

Still, it’s lower than neighboring states such as New York ($3.81) and Pennsylvania ($3.76) even though they have self-serve gas. Critics argue there’s no guarantee station owners will lower prices here if they can offer self-serve. They say it’s possible stations could make the self-service price the same as the full-service price now and raise the price of self-service.

Whether this measure has enough support to pass unclear. It would need to be approved by both the Senate and Assembly and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy to become law.

Murphy said in 2018 he’s in favor of keeping the state’s gas system as is, arguing it’s “part of our fabric.” His office did not immediately respond to a message Tuesday seeking comment.

RELATED: A brief history of why you can’t pump your own gas in New Jersey

New Jersey’s ban was enacted in 1949, with officials citing safety concerns about people pumping gas themselves.

One argument is you could accidentally light yourself on fire (though that doesn’t seem to be an issue in other states). Another is that self-serve could expose more people to dangerous vapors.

Concern about price protection also inspired the law.

People face fines of between $50 and $250 if they pump their own gas in New Jersey, though actual citations for violating that ban are rare.

For decades, New Jersey and Oregon were the last two states to bar self-serve gas statewide. But Oregon allowed it for stations in smaller, rural communities in 2018 and is now considering a bill to lift its ban completely.

Among drivers, to self-serve or not to self-serve has been a lopsided but heated argument in and about New Jersey. A 2012 Fairleigh Dickinson University/PublicMind poll found 63 percent of New Jerseyans didn’t want to pump their own gas, and only 23 percent wanted to ditch the self-serve ban.

The pro-ban side enjoys the comfort of not having to endure the freezing cold when they pull up to a nozzle and fears finding a full-service tank would be more difficult if self-service were allowed. Many Jersey natives swear by the transition and joke they don’t want to learn how to fuel themselves.

The anti-ban side hates having to wait for an attendant when they can simply step out of their car and fill their own tank. Then there are out-of-staters who either don’t know the law or roll their eyes at it.

Legislation and lawsuits seeking to overturn the ban have stalled repeatedly over the last 40 years. Top Jersey politicians — from both parties — have often balked at changing it.

In 2012, then-Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, said it’s “never going to happen.”

“People in New Jersey love the idea that they’ve got somebody to pump their gas,” Christie said. “I don’t see that changing.”

In 2019, Murphy, Christie’s Democratic successor, was asked if he’d be open to self-serve to cut down on prices if the state’s gas tax went up again.

“I will not commit political suicide this morning,” Murphy responded. “I’m not going near who pumps the gas.”

But supporters of the new proposal say the situation has gotten more dire because the pandemic has altered the nation’s job market. Assemblywoman Anette Chaparro, D-Hudson, another sponsor, said it’s “shameful” many gas stations have had to close “even during daytime hours” because of staff shortages.

Joe Ocello, president of the state’s Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association, said owning a gas station was once “a great way to make a living,” but increasing prices and labor shortages are “making it more and more difficult.”

Sal Risalvato, the group’s executive director, said many stations have to block pumps with orange cones because there aren’t enough workers, and having self-serve pumps would allow them to remove the cones and still offer full-service “for those who would like it” without needing workers to man those tanks.

Ed Kahouty, a station owner, said it has been difficult to find attendants because “they can make the same inside a warehouse or a retail store.” Ebbie Ashabi, another owner, said self-serve will “put our businesses back on track to compete with our neighbors.”

Full-serve proponents also say it’s a challenge for the elderly and disabled to pump their own gas. Under the new plan, any station with only self-serve gas must have a service to help disabled drivers at no extra charge.

Former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, blocked the last push to lift the ban, saying in 2016 self-serve gas would never happen on his watch because “retailers are controlling the numbers.”

“All you’re doing is increasing their profit,” Sweeney said. “You won’t see the savings because it just disappears.”

The Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association disputed that stations won’t pass the savings to customers, saying gas is a highly competitive product and a station that doesn’t drop prices would lose business to competitors.

The group also notes that while other states with self-serve gas already have similar or higher prices than New Jersey, some have higher gas taxes and New Jersey has a large amount of gasoline infrastructure that keeps wholesale costs down.

Sweeney lost re-election last year and no longer controls what bills come up for a vote in the Senate.

A spokesman for new Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.

A spokeswoman said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, is “familiar with the bill that’s just been introduced and aware of the discussion surrounding this issue, and will be taking a look.”

Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, R-Union, said she supports the measure and suspects the public might if prices do drop. She also recalled instances where it would have been faster if she could have pumped her own gas instead of waiting for an attendant.

”Giving people choice is important,” Munoz said Tuesday after an event opening a new Motor Vehicle Commission office in Springfield.

State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth — long a proponent of self-serve gas — called the bill a “great compromise,” joking that the only argument to keep the ban would be if New Jerseyans could prove they’re more flammable than others.

“There’s absolutely no reason for us to perpetuate this ridiculously antiquated and unjustified prohibition,” O’Scanlon said. “It’s time.”

NJ Advance Media staff writer Larry Higgs contributed to this report.

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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.

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