House Republicans are pushing a bill that would ban outside groups from funding state attorneys general offices, in another bid to prevent the influence of so-called “Zuckerbucks.” 

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, Wisconsin Republican, introduced the “Ensuring State Attorney General Accountability Act” on Thursday, which would amend revenue codes to prevent outside organizations from providing direct funding to state attorneys general for lawsuits, investigations or hiring. 

Mr. Fitzgerald’s legislation stemmed from reports that Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul used funding from the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center, a non-profit funded by former New York Mayor and media mogul Michael Bloomberg, to create a new special assistant attorney general position on environmental litigation. 

The lawmaker said in a statement to The Washington Times that private money flowing from outside organizations 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,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. 

So far, Mr. Fitzgerald’s measure has four co-sponsors: Reps. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Derek Van Orden of Wisconsin, Claudia Tenney of New York and John Rose of Tennessee. 

Republicans have pushed to bar outside money from entering into state offices after the 2020 election, when $300 million from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a non-profit funded by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, poured into election offices across the country. 

The GOP and critics of the funding believed that the extra influx of cash helped tip the scales of the election into President Biden’s favor, and have sought to ban the practice across the country. 

Earlier this year, Wisconsin became the 28th state to ban private funding from being used for election administration. The Badger State received $10 million from Mr. Zuckerberg’s organization in 2020. 

Rep. Bryan Steil, Wisconsin Republican, also introduced legislation earlier this year that would outright ban “Zuckerbucks” by amending federal tax code to prevent outside organizations from funneling money toward election administration. The measure has not made it to the House floor. 

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.