Committee approves short public‑records exemption to protect hunting‑lottery winners

Representative Zaring presented House Bill 1177 to create a temporary public‑records exemption for personal information related to hunting and fishing lottery winners, citing a recent Florida incident where selected participants were harassed by advocacy groups.

The sponsor said the department will still run audits and that disclosure can occur after the event; the bill is intended to prevent harassment of lawful participants in limited lottery hunts. Committee members asked clarifying questions about audit safeguards and the duration of the exemption. The committee voted to report the bill favorable.

Supporters and a department representative said the exemption is narrowly tailored to allow events to proceed without targeted harassment of the small number of winners.