Attorney General's News Release

December 28, 2007

Additions to Attorney General's Web page during 2007 illustrate Nixon's commitment to open government

Jefferson City, Mo. — The number of resources available to Missouri consumers on Attorney General Jay Nixon's Web page, including everything from tools to research consumer complaints to checking out the latest in product recalls, increased significantly during 2007. Nixon is reminding Missourians to utilize the site, located at ago.mo.gov, to access information like previous Attorney General opinions, learn what it means to be a smart consumer, or report workplace or Sunshine Law violations.

"Providing greater access for Missourians to the workings of government has always been a priority of my office," Nixon said. "Adding the numerous research tools and other consumer-friendly resources to my Web page in just the past year reinforces that commitment."

During 2007, the following features have been added to the Attorney General's Web page:

• Attorney General opinions - Attorneys, researchers and other interested citizens can now access all past Attorney General opinions, free of charge, dating back to 1974. The resource is available year-round, 24 hours a day and can be accessed by clicking the "I am looking for" link at the top of the page on the left side, and then scrolling down to "opinions."
• Consumer Corner - Debuted during National Consumer Protection Week in February, Consumer Corner is a comprehensive, searchable reference guide consumers can use when making buying decisions, checking out a business or trying to spot a scam.
• KnowMO - Since July, Missourians have been able to look up consumer complaints from a database of approximately 100,000 complaints received by the Attorney General's Office since 2004 by clicking on the KnowMO link on the Web site. Consumers can search for the name of an individual or business instantly any time of day or night to help them make better decisions when buying merchandise or contracting services.
• No Call list verification - Missourians who want to verify that their home telephone numbers are on the No Call list can now do so on a feature added to Nixon's Web page in August. By clicking on the No Call logo and entering their home phone number, consumers learn through a search engine if their number was found and what date the number was registered on the list.
• Product recalls - Nixon launched a one-stop clearinghouse for all the latest information on product recalls on his site in August. By clicking on ago.mo.gov/recalls, consumers find a page that brings together detailed information from various federal agencies involved in the recalls of numerous products.
• Sunshine Law complaint form - To help ensure that state and local governmental bodies comply with the provisions of Missouri's Sunshine Law, Nixon unveiled an online form for Missourians to file complaints about violations of the law in September. The complaint form can be found under the Open Government section of the Attorney General's Web page.
• Workplace violations complaint form - To make it easier for Missourians to report employers who attempt to take unfair or illegal advantages both of their employees and of their business competitors who play by the rules, Nixon unveiled an Employer Workforce Accountability Complaint Form in October. The feature allows anyone to report violations on the site of various violations, including employing undocumented workers, failing to carry workers compensation liability, or misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
• Consumer quizzes - As a way testing the consumer knowledge of Missourians, Nixon unveiled several new online consumer quizzes to his Web page earlier this month. The 12 different multiple choice and true-false quizzes cover everything from scams to credit to car buying to conflicts between landlords and tenants.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to the Press Secretary.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818