Political Action Committee (Super PAC)

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Political Action Committees (PACs and Super PACs)

Key takeaways
* PACs are organizations that pool campaign contributions to support or oppose candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.
* Federal rules govern formation, registration, contribution limits, and disclosure; different PAC types have different rules.
* Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited funds on independent expenditures but cannot give directly to campaigns or legally coordinate with them.

What is a PAC?

A political action committee (PAC) is any organization that receives or spends more than $1,000 to influence a federal election. PACs collect contributions from members or supporters and use those funds to donate to campaigns, run independent ads, or support issue advocacy consistent with their interests.

How PACs work (federal rules)

  • Registration: A PAC must register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) within 10 days of formation and disclose its name, address, treasurer, and affiliated organizations.
  • Contribution thresholds: An organization becomes a PAC when it crosses the $1,000 receipt/spending threshold for federal election influence.
  • Contribution limits (typical federal limits):
  • A PAC may contribute up to $5,000 to a candidate committee per election.
  • A PAC may contribute up to $15,000 annually to a national party committee.
  • A PAC may contribute up to $5,000 annually to another PAC.
  • A PAC may receive up to $5,000 from any individual, PAC, or party committee per calendar year.
  • Affiliation and aggregation: Affiliated PACs are treated as a single donor for contribution limits.
  • Disclosure: PACs must disclose contributors and spending to the FEC; however, some disclosures may be filed after an election, reducing real-time transparency.

Types of PACs

  • Separate Segregated Funds (SSFs): Established by corporations, labor unions, membership organizations, or trade associations. SSFs can accept contributions only from individuals associated with the sponsoring organization.
  • Nonconnected Committees: Not sponsored by a specific organization and able to solicit contributions from the general public.
  • Super PACs (independent-expenditure-only committees): May raise and spend unlimited sums from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other entities for independent expenditures. They may not contribute directly to candidates or legally coordinate with campaigns.
  • Hybrid PACs: Combine features of a traditional PAC and a Super PAC. They must keep separate bank accounts for regulated contributions (subject to standard limits) and for independent-expenditure activities (unlimited), and follow corresponding reporting rules.
  • Leadership PACs: Established by current or former officeholders to support other candidates or political activities. Leadership PACs are subject to standard contribution limits when contributing to federal candidates (commonly up to $5,000 per election).

PACs vs. Super PACs

  • Direct contributions: Traditional PACs can make limited direct contributions to candidates. Super PACs cannot contribute directly to candidate committees.
  • Fundraising limits: Traditional PACs face limits on how much they can accept and give. Super PACs may accept and spend unlimited funds for independent expenditures.
  • Coordination: Super PACs are legally prohibited from coordinating their expenditures with candidate campaigns; traditional PACs that donate directly are part of regulated coordination and contribution frameworks.
  • Influence: Super PACs have become influential through large independent spending on ads and other communications, often financed by a small number of large donors.

Special considerations

  • Corporate and union money: Following court decisions expanding the scope of political spending by corporations and unions, these entities may fund independent-expenditure entities (including Super PACs). Corporations and unions still cannot give directly to federal candidates, but they can fund PACs and independent expenditures.
  • Disclosure gaps: While PACs must disclose contributors, donors can sometimes hide identities through intermediary entities (e.g., shell corporations or other organizations), which can limit transparency.
  • Practical effects: The rise of independent-expenditure committees has shifted political spending from direct candidate support to outside advertising and issue advocacy.

Who can start a PAC?

  • Individuals and groups can form nonconnected PACs and solicit the general public.
  • Corporations, labor unions, trade associations, and membership organizations typically form SSFs that solicit only their members, employees, or shareholders.
  • Any PAC must comply with FEC registration, reporting, and contribution-limit rules.

Example

  • National Association of Realtors PAC: An example of an industry-backed PAC that raises funds to support candidates and policies aligned with its members’ interests.

Bottom line

PACs are regulated vehicles for pooled political giving with defined limits, registration, and disclosure requirements. Super PACs, by contrast, can raise and spend unlimited sums on independent expenditures, which has made them a powerful force in modern U.S. elections. Understanding the distinctions, legal constraints, and disclosure practices is essential to following how political money is raised and used.