SEATTLE (AP) — 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.
But Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch says the case has to go to trial to determine what fine the group will pay for shielding the identity of major corporate donors to their campaign. The amount of the fine depends on whether the violation was intentional.
In her decision, which was made public on Friday, Hirsch said the grocery 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 Grocery Manufacturers Association raised $14 million from corporations to fight Initiative 522 and then donated $11 million in the organization's name, without saying companies like Pepsi, Nestle and Coca-Cola each donated millions of dollars.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the association in October 2013 and Hirsch heard arguments in Olympia in February.
