CEO DATELINE - Appeals court upholds $18M fine against Consumer Brands Association
CEO DATELINE - Appeals court upholds $18M fine against Consumer Brands Association
- November 12, 2020 |
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Walt Williams
A Washington state appeals court has upheld an $18 million fine levied against the Consumer Brands Association for violating that state's campaign finance laws, but the group has vowed to fight on in court.
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CBA—formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association—was fined $6 million by a Washington state judge in 2016 for violating state campaign- finance disclosure laws when it campaigned against a ballot initiative concerning food labeling. The judge then trebled the penalty to $18 million after concluding the association had intentionally set out to withhold information about its campaign donors.
Earlier this year, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld the conviction against CBA but left open the question of whether the penalty violated constitutional protections against excessive fines. It sent the case back to the state court of appeals to review the penalty.
The appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the $18 million fine did not violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, siding with the state in finding the association's actions "harmed the public by preventing Washington voters from knowing the identity of the companies that were spending millions of dollars to defeat the initiative."
"Dark money has no place in Washington elections," Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in response to the ruling. "This decision confirms that our courts take intentional violations of our campaign finance laws seriously."
In a statement to CEO Update, CBA said it was "eager to close the door on one of the last legacy issues of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and put this case behind us." However, the penalty imposed is "clearly disproportional to other campaign finance violations of its kind."
"The next step is that we will appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court," the group said. "If our appeal is denied, we can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. We have options and will continue to pursue them."
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