But Cavanaugh, who was
on his way to his car in the East York AAA parking lot off Eastern
Boulevard on Friday afternoon, was surprised to hear that the
organization involves itself in political causes as well - at both the
state and national levels.
"I didn't know they had any stance, in Harrisburg or anywhere else," Cavanaugh said.
Recently,
the Pennsylvania AAA Federation, which is affiliated with the national
AAA, has been campaigning among both the public and the state General
Assembly against an attempt to make cars with stricter emissions
standards mandatory in Pennsylvania.
And
some members of environmental activist groups, who oppose the AAA on
that issue, accuse the organization of misleading members who join only
for roadside service.
"They have the appearance of a citizens' group," said Nathan Willcox of PennEnvironment.
But
Ted Leonard, executive director of the Pennsylvania AAA Federation,
said that the organization has never tried to conceal its political
involvement. Indeed, that's been a stated part of the organization's
mission for a century.
"AAA has been involved in legislative issues almost since the beginning," Leonard said.
Would members support AAA's positions?
For
months, AAA has been championing a cause that won a major victory last
week. The state Senate approved legislation that would override an
effort by Gov. Ed Rendell to require that only lower-emission vehicles
be sold in Pennsylvania beginning in 2007.
State
lawmakers originally decided to enact the stricter auto emissions
standards in 1998. At the time, states were trying to decide how to
comply with lower air pollution standards required under the federal
Clean Air Act. They had two choices: tighter federal standards, or
still tighter standards that California adopted to cope with that
state's severe smog problem.
Pennsylvania's
legislature decided on the national standard, with plans to phase in
the California standard by 2006. In the intervening years, however, the
state legislature never got around to enacting the California standard.
Willcox
said that his and other state environmental groups have been pleased
with a recent attempt to revive the California standards, because it
would cut back on smog-producing emissions in Pennsylvania by a far
higher percentage than the federal standards alone.
In
addition, he said, it would help cut back on America's dependence on
foreign oil, and ultimately save consumers money because the
California-style cars would have higher fuel efficiency standards.
Willcox
said he believes that many of the AAA members who belong to the
organization solely for roadside service would be displeased to learn
of its lobbying.
"They
are making these statements describing themselves as the largest
motorists' advocate," Willcox said. "But a lot of their members, I
know, wouldn't support this position."
The
organization also lobbies at the national level, according to Brendan
Bell, a Sierra Club representative who works in Washington, D.C. Bell
said he does a lot of lobbying himself on energy issues. And he said
that he and his group frequently butt heads with the AAA on issues
pertaining to fuel efficiency. They're also at odds over the AAA's
perennial insistence that federal money go toward highways rather than
mass transportation.
Bell also said he believes that many AAA members don't know what the group is up to.
"What
they're not signing on for is an organization that spends its
considerable resources lobbying against legislation that a lot of those
people probably support," Bell said.
Lobbying on behalf of motorists
Leonard,
however, said that the AAA is upfront about its activities. And all of
them are meant to directly benefit the group his organization
represents: the motoring public.
He
said that the California car program would raise the cost of vehicles
by $1,000 to $3,000 (which PennEnvironment denies). Another major cause
for concern, he said, is that the program would put Pennsylvania at the
mercy of the California Air Resources Board, which is the California
agency that sets air quality standards in that state.
California
could opt to raise air quality standards to some unreasonable extent.
And though Pennsylvanians would have no say in the matter, they would
be obliged under the California program to follow suit.
According
to Leonard, AAA has taken on other issues in Harrisburg that have
nothing to do with air quality, such as expanding the amount of time
that teenagers must hold learners' permits before they can get a
license, gas quality inspection, use of radar guns by local police and
making sure police in Philadelphia use traffic light cameras to protect
driver safety rather than to generate revenue.
Leonard
said that the Pennsylvania AAA Federation has been around for 100
years, and the group's activism played a major role in the creation of
the state highway system.
"You could say we're a special-interest group," Leonard said. "Yeah. For everyone who owns a car."
