Originally Posted by franklin_m

No. Congress realized it was not wise to have a private dues collecting organization, one not directly acccountable to Congress, acting in a quasi-govermental role. I spoke with a number of staffers who understood that 336 allowed AMA, w/o any oversight from Congress, to make operational changes to the FARs (in the form of changes to AMA "safety code") w/o being accountable to anyone but themselves. Similarly, a number of these same staffers saw for themselves how AMA was trying to use 336 to imply that membership in AMA was required in order to fly legally. They rightfully saw that as AMA trying to use law to drive membership.

AMA is a private dues collecting organization, one that should not be involved in the writing and/or implementation of FARs. They can be advised, but promulgation, interpretation, and enforcement is inherently governmental. The new law makes big strides toward restoring that proper firewall between government and a private organization. Once FAA takes over the promulgation of operational limits for recreational sUAS, then the last step will be complete.