SALEM — Gov. Tina Kotek will not stand in the way of legislation that would allow self-serve fueling in Oregon, where it has been banned since 1951.

The Democratic chief executive issued a notice July 2, of potential vetoes of bills passed by the 2023 Legislature

Self-service gas – House Bill 2426 — was not among them. Though Kotek has until Aug. 4 to act on legislation, she was required to inform the legislature by July 28 if she would issue any vetoes.

The list consisted of three policy bills — one of them involved only the bill’s emergency clause — and several items contained in an end-of-session budget reconciliation measure.

That means the self-serve bill will take effect Saturday, Aug. 5, the day after the deadline for Kotek to act on bills from the session.

New Jersey is the only other state that bars people from pumping their own gasoline, dating back to 1949. Oregon’s ban, however, has been eased in recent years and self-service has been allowed in rural counties, mostly east of the Cascades. Self-service also was allowed elsewhere for a brief period, although that authority has since ended.

Kotek has been the target of a public campaign by supporters to sign the bill, which would still require half the pumps to be reserved for full service for people with disabilities, older people and people who still want attendants to pump gas.

Under the Oregon Constitution, if the governor does not sign a bill, it automatically becomes law. This is unlike the U.S. Constitution, under which the president can effectively kill a bill with a “pocket veto” if Congress is out of session.

The governor has 30 business days to act on bills from the time lawmakers adjourned on June 25. Under the state’s Constitution, the governor must issue a notice if intending to veto a bill, though the notice does not obligate the governor to do so.

The bill had bipartisan sponsorship: Majority Leader Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, in the House, and Sens. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, and Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles. It passed the House on a 47-10 vote March 20 — seven Democrats and three Republicans opposed it — and the Senate on a 16-9 vote June 21. All nine opponents were Democrats; four Republicans and the lone independent were marked as absent, having not returned from a six-week GOP walkout that ended June 15.

Critics said the bill would leave some people with fewer options for full service.