While the Rounds Administration tries to make it a partisan issue, I don’t think open government and accessibility to government records is a Democratic/Republican divide.  It’s just good government.

I think Republican Attorney General Larry Long understands that.

And I think Republican Secretary of State Chris Nelson understands that as well.

As an attorney who is constantly diving into corporate records for my clients, this new service where you can access—for free—corporate records online—is a Godsend.

Thanks, Chris, for supporting good and open government.

Here’s his press release announcing the changes in the SDSOS website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 20, 2008

 

CONTACT:

Chris Nelson, Secretary of State

605-773-3537

 

PIERRE, S.D. — Secretary of State Chris Nelson is pleased to announce the unveiling of a number of exciting new features on the Secretary of State website www.sdsos.gov. These new features represent a major update of the corporate lookup site. The enhancements are the result of several months of effort by Nelson’s team to augment the usability and availability of corporate documents.

 

Want to find out whether a corporation is active or inactive, see if it’s in good standing, view an image of the corporate records and print a copy of the articles or annual report right from your desk for free? That’s exactly what this new feature will allow you to do!

 

The website can be navigated in several ways. For example, you may enter the corporate name, corporate ID, or a search word and a list of corporations meeting the criterion will be produced. You then have the option to click on any one of the corporations displayed or return to do another search. Once you find your corporation, click on the corporate ID you will be given basic information along with a grid listing the corporate documents. Click on a document and the image is available on your screen. It’s that simple.

 

Our intent is to produce the best possible website and make it very user friendly. We hope you enjoy these new features and also that you continue to use and rely on the Secretary of State Office as an important resource. While we feel that the new site will prove very useful, we invite your feedback.  Please feel free to send a note or call 773-4845 with any helpful comments. 

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