ND1028114

Title: Minnesota Association Won?t Advocate for Prepay Pumps Only

Description: The Minnesota Service Station Association decides to not ask the Legislature to put a prepay law on the books next year.

Page Content:

COON RAPIDS, Minn. ? Several municipalities in Minnesota are considering requirement of prepay pumps, but the Minnesota Service Station Association (MSSA) will not press state lawmakers to make prepayment state law next year, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

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?We?re still Minnesota Nice, but a lot of people come in and say, ?I can't believe I can come in and pay,?? said Andrea Drake, MSSA president. As of press time, the MSSA board feels that city councils should pursue this matter and not the statehouse.

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In Coon Rapids, fuel thefts have been on the rise and the city council is likely to consider a proposal requiring all stations within city limits to have prepayment before filling up. Coon Rapids Police Chief Brad Wise said officers typically have trouble pursuing fuel thefts and such a law would dramatically lower drive-offs.

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?All of crime prevention is seeing if you can reduce crime in one area so you're able to concentrate on other areas,? said Wise. ?There's a cost that's imposed on the Police Department, in terms of extra calls for service. This is about less government, not more.?

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Green Bay officials declined to approve a measure that would have required prepayment at the pump. ?The discussions at the committee level focused a lot on the balance of the government intervening in private business and dictating what private businesses do," said Assistant City Attorney Kail Becker. ?It was very much a philosophical debate, rather than a practical debate.?

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Read about the history of self-serve and prepay gasoline in ?Self-Serve Evolution? in the October issue of NACS magazine.

Content Subject: Petroleum Retailing

Formatted Article Date: October 28, 2011

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