If one wanted to form a political organization (political action
committee, or some other non-profit?) that would contribute to
candidates running for federal office in 2004 (U.S. House and Senate)
as well as develop/air political ads of its own, what are all of the
necessary steps/processes and what would it cost approximately?  Can
you give a listing of potential individuals/organizations one would
need to contact to begin the process?  For example, the Club for
Growth might be a model of what kind of organization I am interested
in.

Hello.

The steps and requirements for forming a political action committee to
contribute to candidates seeking election to Congress are set out in a
document called "Campaign Guide for Nonconnected Committees." The
document is published by the Federal Election Commission [
http://www.fec.gov ] and is available for download from fec.gov:
http://www.fec.gov/pdf/nongui.pdf (PDF format; Adobe Acrobat Reader is
required http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html );

There's also an html version, cached by Google:
http://216.239.57.100/search?q=cache:cysR83J4-YsC:www.fec.gov/pdf/nongui.pdf&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&client=googlet
Note, however, that this html version doesn't accurately depict the
various forms illustrated in the document. As such, I'd recommend that
you download the PDF version above.

As detailed in the guide, the basic way to get started is to register
with the FEC. FEC Form #1 ("Statement of Organization") and
instructions may be downloaded from this page:
http://www.fec.gov/reporting.html   Various steps of the registration
process include: designating a treasurer, opening bank accounts, and
naming your committee. Once your committee is established, it will
have to comply with all the requirements set out in the guide.

The FEC has a toll free number for more information: 1-800-424-9530
http://www.fec.gov/pages/infosvc.htm#1-800%20Line

There's also some useful information on these web pages:

Open Secrets: What Is a PAC?
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacfaq.asp 

Asian-American FAQ on Political Action Committees (PACs): 
http://www.80-20initiative.net/pacfaq.htm

search strategy: "form a pac", fec, "federal election commission",
"forming a political action", "non-connected committeees",
"nonconnnected committees"

I hope this helps. If any of this is unclear, please use the request
clarification feature. Best of luck to you in the 2004 election
season!

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Request for Answer Clarification by dolfan-ga on 23 Jan 2003 10:38 PST

Thanks for the info, but I've got a couple of questions you left
unanswered.  What, approximately, are the costs involved?  Such as,
are there any filing fees associated with forming a PAC?  Other
expenses?  Are there any individuals or organizations that one can
hire to help in forming a PAC?  Thank you.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 23 Jan 2003 11:18 PST

Hi.

Okay, I just called the Federal Election Commission at 1-800-424-9530.
 I spoke with an "information specialist" there. He assured me that
there are no filing fees associated with forming a PAC. The process is
free.

As far as hiring help to form a PAC, your best bet would probably be
to hire a lawyer who specializes in election law.
See: FindLaw Directory - Election Campaign & Political Law
http://directory.findlaw.com/lawyer/servlet/PStateFirm?practice=FL16

You also might try contacting some other PACs (similar to the one you
plan to form) to ask for their advice on both the process and legal
representation.

If there's anything else that I can answer, let me know. Good luck!