Committee reports HB 1799 to lower public-disclosure threshold for lottery winners to $1 million

House Bill 1799, patroned by W. Wyatt, would exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act the names and identifying information of lottery prize winners of $1,000,000 or greater unless the winner consents to disclosure. The House General Laws Committee reported the bill out by a roll-call vote of 22 to 0.

The bill would change the current dollar threshold for mandatory disclosure as described in the committee materials and transcript; committee staff said the existing threshold in the code is $10,000,000, and the bill would reduce that threshold to $1,000,000. The committee record also notes that the ABC gaming subcommittee recommended reporting the bill by a vote of 6 to 0 with 2 abstentions.

During the full-committee consideration, Delegate Price asked for clarity about the abstention in the subcommittee and said she had concerns balancing open-government principles against individual privacy. "Open government is a wonderful thing, but I do think in this sense, the privacy of the person might supersede some of the other concerns," Delegate Price said. Delegate Simon made a light remark thanking Delegate Price for the explanation and joking about seeking a loan if she were a winner.

The committee moved and seconded a motion to report the bill; the clerk recorded the final tally as 22 yes, 0 no. The bill will proceed to the next steps in the legislative process.