House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer is investigating the connections between New York University School of Law’s State Energy & Environmental Impact Center and several state attorneys general offices. In letters addressed to Patricia Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Bethany Davis Noll, Executive Director of The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, Comer raises ethical concerns regarding Bloomberg Philanthropies’ funding of fellows who allegedly use their roles in state attorneys general offices for activist lawsuits and lobbying.
Comer states that “In 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies provided a grant to establish the State Impact Center at NYU. Many of the projects that the State Impact Center’s fellows lead fit squarely within Bloomberg Philanthropies’ ‘Beyond Carbon’ and ‘Beyond Petrochemicals’ campaigns.” He adds that “The founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mr. Bloomberg, has provided hundreds of millions of dollars for partisan climate-focused advocacy campaigns.”
NYU’s State Impact Center claims to be nonpartisan but reportedly prioritizes Democratic state attorneys general and policies aligned with the Biden Administration’s energy regulations. Comer argues that there are no known instances of support for Republican attorneys general from the center.
“The role of an attorney general is vital to America’s legal system,” Comer asserts. He concludes that “The Bloomberg-NYU program effectively offers states partisan money from a billionaire to carry out official functions of their offices.”
