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May 2, 2006 6:00 pm US/Eastern
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Governor Drops Plans To Push For Self-Service Gas
TRENTON (CBS) ―
Facing stiff public and legislative resistance, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Tuesday he won't fight for his short-lived proposal to bring self-service gasoline pumping to New Jersey.
"There are some things that are really worth fighting about," Corzine told the New Jersey Associated Press Managing Editors Association's annual meeting. "This one, you know, I think is important, but way down on the list of important things."
Corzine, a Democrat, said he had higher priorities with which to wrestle in a state with ethical, property tax and budget problems.
The governor said his office has received 1,400 phone calls and e-mails since he announced last week that he wanted to offer self-service gasoline at stops on the New Jersey Turnpike and at some local stations.
He said the outcry was seven times higher than the number of complaints his office received over his proposal to increase the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent. The governor also said he heard complaints during weekend visits to town festivals and Washington, D.C. "It's an idea," Corzine said. "It doesn't seem like it's been overwhelmingly embraced."
Amid soaring gasoline prices last week, Corzine said self-service gas could cut prices by as much as 6 cents per gallon. Lawmakers said they weren't convinced and worried such a move could actually mean increased prices for full service gas while new, self-serve has was sold at current prices.
They also said self-service gasoline could cause problems for senior and disabled citizens. New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states that prohibit self-service gasoline. Corzine stopped short of saying he was abandoning his plan, but said he would concentrate on ethics and property tax reforms and getting his budget proposal approved by July 1.
"This is not a fight that you want to take to the death," Corzine said.
E-mail the CBS 2: Pump Patrol More CBS 2 Coverage
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