(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by
Assembly Democrat John Burzichelli (D-Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem) to study
whether granting lottery winners in New Jersey anonymity would negatively impact
transparency and lottery sales was approved Monday by the
Assembly.
The former version of the bill, which
gave lottery winners the option to remain anonymous for a year, was approved by
both house, but it was conditionally vetoed by the governor. The current version
implements the recommendations made by the governor under his conditional
veto.
“While I think we had it right the
first time, I appreciate the concerns raised by the governor concerning
transparency and lottery sales. We certainly don’t want to do anything that may
negatively impact one of the state’s most consistent sources of revenue. So in
the spirit of compromise, we have revised the bill to first look into what, if
any, negative effects granting anonymity to lottery owners may have on the
lottery program,” said Burzichelli. “While not every lottery-winning story ends
in tragedy, I still believe there is merit to giving lottery winners the option
to stay out of the public eye, so I hope that after a review of the potential
repercussions, we will be able to give them that option.”
The bill (A-2982) directs the state
treasurer to review the disclosure and nondisclosure of lottery winners in New
Jersey and other jurisdictions and how nondisclosure affects transparency and
lottery sales, and report any findings and recommendations to the governor by
the end of the year.
Current regulations allow the State
Lottery to use the names, addresses, prize amount and photographs of winners.
The address used does not include a street or house number. In addition, a
winner’s name, town, and county are available under the Open Public Records
Act.
There are numerous stories across the
country of lottery winners whose overnight-millionaire stories ended in tragedy.
Illinois resident Jeffrey Dampier, who won $20 million in Illinois' lottery in
1996, was kidnapped and killed by his sister-in-law and her boyfriend who
targeted him for money. Abraham Shakespeare won the $31 million jackpot in
Florida in 2006. He disappeared in 2009 and his body was found in early 2010
under a concrete slab. A woman who had befriended him and then seized control of
his remaining fortune was charged in connection with his
murder.
The bill was approved 77-1 and now
awaits further consideration by the Senate.
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