Corporate- or union-sponsored political action committees should be free to raise and spend unlimited sums of money, a conservative nonprofit corporation tells the Federal Election Commission in a new advisory opinion request. In it, attorney Dan Backer asks the FEC to consider allowing PACs connected to corporations, unions and trade associations to create super PACs within their structure – effectively creating hybrid PACs.“
Non-connected PACs” – those not affiliated with a corporation, trade association or union — already have this definition-bending ability, thanks in large part to Backer’s advocacy in last year’s the Carey v. Federal Election Commission federal court case, the decision in which paved the way for hybrid PACs to come into existence.
Several PACs, including one supporting anti-cancer legislation and another supporting cigar smokers’ rights, have since last summer taken advantage of the Carey v. FEC ruling, FEC records indicate. If the FEC approves this latest advisory opinion request, a corporate PAC “could solicit up and down its entire supply chain of vendor and vendee companies, and their executives … plus their own non-restricted, and even union, employees” to support a super PAC account, Backer told POLITICO.
Full Article: New super PAC breed pushed by group – Dave Levinthal – POLITICO.com.