Perry has new way to use his donations

WASHINGTON — As if the line between campaigns and Super PACs wasn't blurry enough, Rick Perry's presidential effort could blur it even further.

The Texas governor's presidential campaign committee has asked the Federal Election Commission for permission to funnel unspent funds from his failed effort into a new political action committee.

The leftover funds, along with money donated specifically for a possible general election race against President Barack Obama, would be used to “promote his vision” of states' rights and family values, Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said Thursday.

“The governor's putting a request in to see if there's a way that funds from the campaign can still be put to use for the goals of promoting his conservative values,” she said.

Perry critics suggested other uses for any leftover campaign cash.

“He ought to first repay Texas taxpayers for the $2.7 million we paid for his security detail during his failed presidential campaign,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. “That should be his first priority.”

Federal election law limits individual donations to $2,500 for a presidential primary campaign and another $2,500 for the general election.

During his campaign, Perry sought and received $5,000 contributions from hundreds of donors. In the past, defeated presidential candidates have refunded contributions earmarked for the general election.

Perry's campaign, in a letter submitted to the FEC by treasurer Salvatore Purpura, asks the election watchdogs whether the governor can transfer general election contributions to a new Perry-controlled PAC — if he receives permission from the donors.

At stake is up to $170,000 in general election donations that contributors have not yet requested to be refunded.

The Perry campaign committee also asks that “residual” funds remaining in the presidential account be eligible for transfer to a new Perry PAC. While the letter did not specifically state the amount, the most recent campaign disclosure reports indicate the committee had $3,761,885.54 cash on hand as of Dec. 31, 2011.

Transferring the money to a federal PAC could allow Perry to use the past donations in ways forbidden for presidential candidates.

Under federal election law, former candidates have a limited number of options for disposing of excess funds and are not permitted to convert federal campaign contributions to personal use or to benefit themselves or their families.

However, multicandidate PACs and Super PACs of the kind Perry is considering aren't explicitly barred from converting campaign funds to personal use. The FEC has recommended to Congress that it ban personal use of PAC funds, but lawmakers have not acted on the request.

While the allowable uses of PAC money remain murky, experts say there's little doubt Perry will be permitted to transfer money to the new committee.

Former FEC Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky, now at the Heritage Foundation, said campaign committees have transitioned to PACs before, including Friends of Albert Gore Jr., which became the multicandidate committee Leadership '02.

“There's nothing unusual about that at all — lots of candidates do that,” von Spakovsky said.

Austin Bureau Chief Peggy Fikac contributed to this report.