Perry All Clear to Create Super PAC, Bring Funds Home

Gov. Rick Perry and his now dormant presidential campaign committee, RickPerry.org Inc., are in the clear to create a new PAC or Super PAC with the remaining primary funds or to funnel those contributions to Perry’s Texas committee, according to an advisory opinion released today by a Federal Election Commission panel.

However, the panel was unable to agree on what could be done with the remaining general campaign funds.

On Feb. 13, nearly a month after the Jan. 19 suspension of the campaign, Perry’s campaign submitted a request to the FEC for advice as to what would be allowed by the commission if Perry decided he wanted to convert his election committee into a “non-connected PAC,” or if he would be allowed to bring any of those funds back home.

In the request, Perry’s campaign detailed the steps it had already taken to keep approximately $270,000 in general election funds separate, and its plan to request redesignation and offer a refund from every general election contributor. But the panel could not agree on whether or not such a redesignation would be enough to not leave the campaign on the wrong side of current campaign finance law.

According to the campaign’s latest campaign finance report, filed on Tuesday, RickPerry.org Inc. had $674,000 on hand at the end of February after spending $78,000 on operation expenditures and refunding $116,000. It still carries $14,000 worth of debt.

A copy of the panel’s advisory opinion has been attached below.