By Donna Gordon Blankinship
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — A Thurston County judge has ruled the Grocery Manufacturers Association violated Washington’s campaign finance disclosure laws in 2013 while fighting a food-labeling initiative.
Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch said the case has to go to trial to determine what fine the group will pay for shielding the identity of major corporate donors to its campaign.
The amount of the fine depends on whether the violation was intentional.
In her decision, which was made public Friday, Hirsch said the food industry group violated both the spirit and the letter of Washington’s Public Campaign Finance Laws during its fight against an initiative that would have required labeling of genetically modified foods in the state.
The state was asking her to side with it and make a decision without going to a full trial, while the association sought to dismiss the lawsuit.
Determine fine
Hirsch decided the case would have to go forward to determine the fine.
State law says fines for campaign finance disclosure violations can include a penalty equal to the amount not reported as required.
If the court finds the violation was intentional, the penalty could be tripled, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said.
Robert Lowe, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, noted that the judge’s ruling says the organization believed its conduct was appropriate under state law.
“In the upcoming trial, we believe the facts will show that GMA always intended to comply with the law,” he said in a statement.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association raised $14 million from corporations to fight Initiative 522 and then donated $11 million in the organization’s name.
That money included nearly $3 million from PepsiCo, $1.75 million from Nestle and $1.74 million from Coca-Cola.
Ferguson sued the association in October 2013, and Hirsch heard arguments in Olympia in February.
The attorney general called the case a long fight for accountability.
“This ruling sends an unequivocal message: Big money donors cannot evade Washington law and hide from public scrutiny,” Ferguson said in a statement.