(Olympia, WA)  --  The Grocery Manufacturers Association is facing an 18-million-dollar fine after a judge ruled the group violated Washington state law.  The "Seattle Times" reports Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch issued the ruling yesterday, saying the Washington, DC-based organization violated state campaign laws by trying to hide the sources of donations toward efforts to defeat a 2013 food-labeling initiative.  State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who sued the Grocery Manufacturers Association in 2013, describes the organization's conduct in the matter as "egregious" and says the penalty may be the largest of its kind ever issued in the U.S.  The association calls the penalty "excessive" and says it plans to appeal the decision.