The Washington State Supreme Court has upheld a record $18 million fine against a national grocery industry group for violating state campaign-finance laws during a 2013 battle against a food-labeling initiative.
In a 5-4 ruling issued Thursday, the court majority upheld a 2020 appeals court decision that found the massive fine levied against the Grocery Manufacturers Association was not excessive. The GMA spent more than $11 million to defeat Initiative 522, which would have required labeling of genetically modified food products. But the industry group did not initially identify the corporations that wrote big checks to fund the campaign, including Coca-Cola, General Mills and Nestle.
The donors were only disclosed after Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office sued, alleging violation of the state’s campaign-finance laws. His office uncovered internal GMA documents showing the group’s leaders purposely had sought to hide the corporations behind the political donations to “shield individual companies from public disclosure and possible criticism.” In addition to the fine, the court majority awarded the state its legal costs in the case. A spokesperson for Ferguson did not immediately have an estimate of the amount of those costs.
The $18 million penalty is the largest ever imposed for campaign-finance violations in Washington. But the nearly decade-long legal fight may still not be over. An attorney for the grocery group, which since has renamed itself the Consumer Brands Association, said it was disappointed in Thursday’s ruling and may take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Seattle Times)
