Here are some questions I wanted to clarify recently about Super PACs (Political Action Committees):
Is funding unlimited?
For the most part it is. From the definition of a Super PAC from https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-receipts-pac/contributions-to-super-pacs-and-hybrid-pacs/:
Political committees that make only independent expenditures (Super PACs) and the non-contribution accounts of Hybrid PACs may solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and other political committees. They may not accept contributions from foreign nationals, federal contractors, national banks or federally chartered corporations.
Are Super PACs allowed to coordinate with campaigns?
They are not, although how coordination is defined and how violations are policed is unclear to me. From https://campaignlegal.org/update/super-pacs-cant-coordinate-candidates-heres-what-happened-when-one-did:
Federal law also prohibits super PACs — organizations that are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations and individuals — from donating to candidates and their campaigns or coordinating with them.
How much can an individual contribute to campaigns versus Super PACs?
There is no limit to how much an individual can contribute to a Super PAC. From https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/making-disbursements-pac/contribution-limits-nonconnected-pacs/:
Independent-expenditure-only political committees (sometimes called “Super PACs”) may accept unlimited contributions, including from corporations and labor organizations.
From the same source, the limit that an individual can contribute to a “Candidate committee” is $3,300 per election. “Candidate committee” is defined in https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/guides/:
An individual running for a seat in the Senate or the House of Representatives or for President of the United States becomes a candidate when he or she raises or spends more than $5,000 in contributions or expenditures.
Presidential, House and Senate candidates must designate a campaign committee. This “authorized committee” takes in contributions and make expenditures on behalf of the campaign.