A Washington State judge ruled that the food industry broke campaign finance laws by concealing the source of millions of dollars of funding that was used to defeat a statewide referendum on GMO food labeling.
The pre-trial ruling, by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch, said the Grocery Manufacturers Association “intentionally took steps to create and then hide the true sources of funds … from the voting public of Washington State,” said Fortune. GMA collected $14 million from its members for the Defense of Brands fund. Some $11 million of the money was used in the 2014 referendum, which failed by 2 percentage points.
The case now goes to trial to determine whether GMA’s violation was intentional. The state attorney general’s office said, “The case will continue to trial on the disputed facts. Under the law, sanctions for campaign finance disclosure violations can include a penalty equal to the amount not reported as required. If the court finds that the violation was intentional, that penalty amount can be tripled.”
GMA says the campaign-disclosure law was unconstitutionally vague, reports Fortune. In a statement, the trade group said it believed its actions were appropriate under state law: “In the upcoming trial, we believe the facts will show that GMA always intended to comply with the law.”