CEO DATELINE - Washington state seeking $14 million in fines against grocery association
CEO DATELINE - Washington state seeking $14 million in fines against grocery association
- February 19, 2016 |
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Walt Williams
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The Washington State District Attorney's Office wants a judge to fine the Grocery Manufacturers Association at least $14 million for allegedly failing to disclose which companies contributed to a 2013 election campaign.
At issue is GMA's campaign to defeat Initiative 522, which was voted down at the ballot box in 2013 after the association raised more than $14 million from companies that opposed the measure. The initiative would have required labels on foods containing genetically modified organisms had it become law.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson contends at least $11 million of the $14 million came from contributions GMA failed to identify under state law. While GMA eventually revealed which companies gave money, Ferguson believes that disclosure was too little, too late.
"GMA engaged in an elaborate scheme to unlawfully shield its members' contributions from public scrutiny," Ferguson said in a statement. "They need to be held accountable." http://1.usa.gov/1Qqy1jF
The attorney's general office is asking Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch to issue "a penalty equal to the over $14 million GMA concealed from the public," according to recently unsealed court documents. The penalty would reflect the fact the association's conduct "was so egregious it ranks among the worst in state history."
The association is fighting back by saying its contributors were simply exercising constitutional rights. http://bit.ly/1QOo681
"These documents simply confirm GMA's efforts to exercise its First Amendment right to act as a single spokesperson for the common interest of its members," GMA said in a statement.
GMO labeling has become a thorny legal issue for GMA. In addition to its fight in Washington state, the association has sued Vermont to overturn a GMO labeling law that recently went into effect there.
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