New Jersey residents could claim their lottery winnings anonymously, avoiding would-be moochers and long-lost family, if a bill in the state Senate makes it all the way into law.

The bill, S-2267, would amend the state's lottery regulations and allow lottery winners to claim their prize and remain anonymous indefinitely. The Assembly version of the bill was first introduced last March and subsequently died, but the Senate version has wended its way through to a second reading in committee Thursday.

"The bill directs the State Lottery Commission to provide by regulation that lottery winners may remain anonymous indefinitely," the bill said. The bill is sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Passaic.

The bill goes as far as to protect lottery winners from having their names and information disclosed through public records requests, providing an exemption from the state's Open Public Records Act.

As it stands, the New Jersey lottery is a "very public game," James Carey, the New Jersey State Lottery Commission's acting director, said in an interview last year. The commission can release the name, town and county of a winner through a press release, according to its rules. And winners of most major jackpots are required to show up for a public press conference.

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If passed, the bill would help with following common advice from financial advisers and lawyers: Keep quiet about a win and tell as few people as possible. The anonymity would also help prevent unsolicited requests for money from people.

This isn't the first time the idea of keeping lottery winners anonymous has been kicked around. For at least a decade, assorted politicians have proffered similar legislation, only to have the bills fizzle or be stamped out.

In 2013, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have allowed lottery winners to stay anonymous for one year, after the bill passed unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature. Christie claimed that stopping the state from announcing winners' information would "undermine the transparency" of the lottery.

The New Jersey bill is being floated around in the wake of the Oct. 23 Mega Millions drawing that saw a ticket worth $1.5 billion sold in South Carolina. Four months later, the prize remains unclaimed in one of only a few states where you can remain anonymous.

If the bill is signed into law, New Jersey would join six other states — Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina — as safe harbors for people with dreams of winning millions of dollars in secret.

Email: torrejon@northjersey.com