A Washington state judge has ordered the Grocery Manufacturers Association to pay $1.1 million in legal fees on top of an $18 million fine levied against the group last year, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch ruled last year that GMA violated state law when the group failed to disclose millions of dollars it had raised to defeat a 2013 ballot issue concerning labels on genetically modified foods. The association was ordered to pay $18 million in fines—one of the largest campaign disclosure penalties ever levied.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson also asked for more than $1 million in legal fees. Hirsh ruled in Ferguson's favor Wednesday by leveraging $1.1 million in legal costs against GMA.

"The record-setting penalty illustrates how egregious GMA's conduct was," Ferguson said in a statement. "It has been a multiyear effort to hold them accountable."

GMA acknowledged it initially failed to disclose campaign donations, saying it was following bad legal advice. The association has said it plans to appeal the fine. http://bit.ly/2lCMCRq

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