New York lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow clips on gas pump handles for hands-free gas pumping — devices that are already allowed in every other state.

New York’s fire code has not allowed the convenience devices since the 1970s, when self-service pumps were first approved. Despite the rule, they were still widely seen at gas stations upstate and in Western New York until a few years ago, when older pumps were swapped out.

“It didn’t make a lot of sense to me,” a state senator, Joseph Griffo, says. Mr. Griffo says he has been hearing from constituents complaining about not having them, so he started to investigate the issue. He introduced the bill to legalize them last month.

There were fears, years ago, the clips could fail and allow gas to overflow out of a vehicle and create a dangerous situation. That has proven to be an unnecessary worry, with other states showing they work just fine.

Massachusetts was the last holdout beside New York, but legalized them a decade ago. The Massachusetts fire marshal said at the time that advances in pump technology and decades of data from other states prompted the change of heart.

A Republican lawmaker, Mr. Griffo likens the issue to overreach into personal freedoms such as showerhead flow regulations and automatic sinks that “tell everybody how much water they can use and how they can use it.”

He says the rule can also be dangerous for elderly people during brutal conditions. “This winter in upstate was real bad this year,” Mr. Griffo says, adding that it would be safer for people to be able to get back into their vehicles to stay warm while refueling.

The bill is under consideration in the consumer protection committee but Mr. Griffo says he doesn’t expect it to come to a vote this session. He didn’t introduce it until the session was winding down. He plans to reintroduce it in the next session and to look for an assembly sponsor of the bill to speed up the legislative process.

“There are serious economic issues, public safety issues, budgetary issues that we’re dealing with, but this is just something that we are going to put on our radar,” Mr. Griffo says. “To see if it can be changed.”