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.
(Photo courtesy pixabay.com)
