SALEM -- Drivers in half of Oregon's counties may soon be able to pump their own gas 24 hours a day after the state House approved a bill to that effect Thursday.

The bill passed 56-0 and now heads to the Senate.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown, people shopping for gas in counties with fewer than 40,000 people will be able to pump their own at all hours. Affected counties would include Baker, Clatsop, Crook, Curry, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Tillamook, Union, Wallowa, Wasco and Wheeler counties, according to the most recent population estimates.

The bill would require gas stations in those 18 counties to still make attendants available for pumping gas between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. if the retail portion of the station is open.

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, the chief sponsor of Thursday's bill, said residents in the many small towns dotting his district, which encompasses most of Oregon's vast eastern counties, have few options for fueling. People can get stranded if their tanks run empty and the town gas station is closed, he said.

"The people that run those mom-and-pop operations on occasion want to take the day off," Bentz said. "When that happens, they close and there's no fuel available in those small towns."

He cautioned that his bill isn't an endorsement of self-service gas statewide.

"This bill affects 5 percent of Oregonians," Bentz said. "The other 95 percent don't have to worry about pumping their own gas."

Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, agreed, telling House colleagues that the debate over statewide self-service gas is "another issue for another battle for another day."

Oregon and New Jersey are the only states that don't allow 24-hour self-service fueling.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

GFriedman@Oregonian.com; 503-221-8209