Posted January 28, 2016

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson wants to penalize the Grocery Manufacturers Association. His office contends the group violated Washington’s campaign finance laws during a 2013 campaign to defeat an initiative that would have required labeling genetically engineered foods. GMA is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association and was the largest single donor to the “No on 522” political committee.

Ferguson’s office sued the group in October 2013, alleging it collected over $11 million from its members. It further alleged that those funds were placed in a special account used to oppose Initiative 522, without disclosing the true source of the contributions.

The Attorney General filed a motion January 22 seeking summary judgment in the case, State v. Grocery Manufacturers Association. A GMA spokesman told the Associated Press they filed a complaint seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, saying that the complaint is “an unconstitutional limitation on GMA’s freedom to speak on behalf of its members.”

In a statement released by his office, Attorney General Ferguson stated, “The crux of this case is transparency. GMA intentionally shielded from public scrutiny the true identity of the companies who donated millions of dollars to this campaign — it was a flagrant violation of state law.”

The initiative was defeated with 51 percent of the vote.

The Washington AG’s official news release is available here.

(Photo courtesy pixabay.com)