House Republicans attempt to ban private funding of state attorneys general offices

House Republicans are seeking to prohibit private funding of state attorneys general offices, similar to “Zuckerbucks” bans, over concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives has been introduced that would prevent outside organizations from directly sending funds to state attorneys general offices, in a program similar to “Zuckerbucks” with the private funding of elections offices, as multiple states have received the funding.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., on Thursday introduced the “Ensuring State Attorney General Accountability Act,” which would change revenue codes, preventing organizations from directly funding state attorneys general for hiring, investigations, or lawsuits, The Washington Times reported.

Reps. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., and John Rose, R-Tenn., are all co-sponsors on the legislation, according to Fitzgerald. Just The News could not verify whether the bill has been formally introduced, and GovTrack, an accountability website that provides bill tracking services says that "It can take a few days between a legislator announcing a new bill and when Congress publishes its official status information and text."

Fitzgerald said in a statement after introducing the bill, “Private money directly funding official government functions, like Attorney General enforcement actions, can create a conflict of interest between what is in the best interests of a private sponsor, versus what is in the best interests of the People. We saw this happen when ‘Zuckerbucks’ were funding official election proceedings in Wisconsin, and now private interests have infiltrated our state attorney’s office too.

“I introduced the Ensuring State Attorney General Accountability Act to keep out-of-state billionaires in check and out of our state attorney general’s office, which should work only for the people of Wisconsin, not outside climate activists.”

The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) poured about $350 million into local elections offices managing the 2020 election, with most of the funds donated to the nonprofit by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The nonprofit has claimed its 2020 election grants — colloquially known as "Zuckerbucks" — were allocated, allegedly without partisan preference to make voting safer amid the pandemic.  

However, a House Republican investigation found that less than 1% of the funds were spent on personal protective equipment. Most of the funds were focused on get-out-the-vote efforts and registrations which were largely funneled to Democratic jurisdictions.

Following controversy surrounding the disproportionate private funding funneled to Democratic jurisdictions and claims that the imbalance helped sway the 2020 election in Biden's favor, 28 states have either restricted or banned the use of private money to fund elections, while 12 counties have also restricted or banned the funds, according to the Capital Research Center. Wisconsin was the most recent state to ban Zuckerbucks, and did so in April when voters passed a constitutional amendment.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration has also passed a bill that would ban "Zuckerbucks" on the federal level.

Fitzgerald introduced his bill in the U.S. House of Representatives after Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) hired Karen Heineman earlier this year with an annual salary of $90,000 a year as the new special assistant attorney general's position on environmental litigation, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The appointment is for a year but can be extended for a second year.

The State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at New York University School of Law is paying for the position. In 2017, the center was launched with a $6 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s charitable foundation. The original purpose of the center was to combat then-President Donald Trump's efforts to rescind climate change policies.

While Republicans warn of a potential conflict of interest for such fellowship positions, Kaul’s communications director, Gillian Drummond, claimed there are no issues.

"Attorney General Kaul is committed to protecting clean water and combating climate change," Drummond told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in May. "Wisconsin DOJ makes decisions about what matters to address based on its independent judgment of what is in the best interests of Wisconsinites."

She said that the state Department of Justice makes its own decisions about issues to address and that none are made by Bloomberg or others. Drummond also noted that the center’s website says, “NYU pays the salaries of the fellows, but the fellows’ sole duty of loyalty is to the attorney general or commissioners in whose office they serve. All work performed by the fellows is entirely identified and managed by the respective government official.”

Wisconsin state Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R) also criticized the private funding in May, claiming that the state attorney general was “selling the Department of Justice to the highest bidder,” The Center Square reported.

"AG Kaul has turned his back on the people of Wisconsin to cater to the radical climate agenda of out-of-state billionaires and Democratic activists," O’Connor added in a statement.

At least 10 states and Washington, D.C., have appointed environmental fellows to state attorneys general offices, according to Politico.

In 2019, Virginia became the first state to crack down on such funding by requiring Office of the Attorney General employees to be state or federal government employees completely funded by public funds, The Washington Times reported.

Minnesota attempted to prevent private funding of its state attorney general office in 2022, but the legislation failed in the state legislature. The measure was considered after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office hired two Special Assistant Attorneys General through the Rockefeller Family Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2019 for advancing “progressive clean energy, climate, and environmental matters of regional and national importance."