Katie Hruska, representing Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office, speaks to the state Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Feb. 11, 2025, at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

PIERRE — A South Dakota legislative committee approved a bill Monday at the Capitol that would remove phone numbers, home addresses and email addresses for law enforcement officers and judges from the state’s publicly available voter roll.

Last year, lawmakers required the state’s entire voter registration list to be made publicly available for free on a state website.

Katie Hruska, the governor’s general counsel, said the disclosure makes judges and law enforcement officers vulnerable to bad actors. The Governor’s Office requested the legislation.

“Certainly the goal of transparency is always there, but it should never drop to the side in favor of reckless distribution of personal information,” Hruska said.

The bill originally would have removed the same information from the records of people elected or appointed to state and federal offices.

Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, said running for office means accepting the risk of private information becoming public. The House Judiciary Committee approved the legislation 12-1 with an amendment to keep the information of statewide and federal elected and appointed officials public.

The committee rejected a related bill requested by the governor. It would have created a felony crime to punish people who maliciously publicize private information about elected officials, law enforcement officers and judges with the intent to place them in fear of death or injury — a practice sometimes described as “doxing,” when private documents are involved.