One of Gov. Chris Christie's most persistent critics in the state Legislature is sponsoring a bill that effectively would have barred Christie's apparent hiring of high-profile lawyer Christopher Wray—now the FBI director—without a written retainer agreement.

Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, has introduced A-5179, which would require retainer agreements between any state agency and private counsel to be memorialized in writing within 30 days of the attorney's retention. The bill, which has not yet been assigned to a committee, would prohibit a firm from being paid with public funds if the 30-day requirement is not met.

Wray, according to reports, was Christie's personal attorney for 11 months during the Bridgegate investigation, and while Christie was gearing up to run for the Republican nomination for president—before Wray and the administration signed a retainer agreement.