Consumer Brands Association To Pay WA $9M To Settle Lawsuit

OLYMPIA, WA — An eight-year battle between the state of Washington and the Consumer Brands Association — formerly known as the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) — has come to a close, with the Consumer Brands Association agreeing to pay the state $9 million to settle a lawsuit, and issuing an apology for intentionally violating Washington's campaign finance law.

The Consumer Brands Association represents a number of large companies including PepsiCo, Inc, Nestle USA, Inc, and The Coca Cola Company. In 2012 the coalition funneled millions of dollars into a campaign to oppose Washington's Initiative 522. Initiative 522 barely failed, with 51 percent of voters saying no. If it had passed, it would have required manufacturers to label genetically engineered foods.

To prevent the initiative from passing, GMA spent millions of dollars opposing the campaign, but intentionally and systematically tried to hide where that money was coming from to avoid criticism, the Attorney General's Office said.

“Illegal dark money has no place in Washington elections,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a release announcing the settlement. “My office will be relentless ensuring dark money special interests that intentionally violate our campaign finance laws will be held accountable — even if it takes a decade. This resolution requires GMA to finally accept responsibility for its intentional violation, pay a significant penalty and help put food on the table for Washingtonians in need.”

Ferguson first filed a suit against GMA in 2013, winning a $6 million penalty from a Thurston County Superior Court judge. The case was then appealed twice to the Washington State Supreme Court, who settled on an $18 million penalty.

GMA then threatened to take the case to the United States Supreme Court, but has now reached an agreement with the Attorney General's Office to pony up $9 million— $6 million of which will go to the state, with the remaining $3 million heading to nonprofits addressing food insecurity in Washington. Ferguson's office says it believes the payment is the largest federal or state campaign finance penalty in U.S. history.

As part of the agreement, the GMA also issued the following apology:

“The Grocery Manufacturers Association accepts responsibility for failing to disclose donors in a timely manner in a 2013 ballot initiative and failing to register as a political committee in accordance with Washington State campaign finance disclosure requirements. We acknowledge the ruling of the Washington Supreme Court and apologize to the voters of Washington State.”