Public Records Free Directory Blog

Each year millions of dollars of unclaimed property are turned over to state offices by businesses. Unclaimed property can include cash, stocks, bonds, securities, and can originate from places such as bank accounts, utility and phone company deposits, uncashed payroll checks, and safe deposit boxes. Most property is considered abandoned after three years. All states and some counties and cities have offices such as treasury departments or departments of revenue that handle such property. These governmental agencies have databases where this unclaimed property may be searched by the public. These databases are free to use and are most often searchable by individual or business name. Additionally, these agencies include forms and instructions for claiming such property.

When searching, be sure to review searching guidelines provided. One wants to be sure to enter the name correctly to avoid missing any records. If one has a prior name, such as a maiden name, be sure to search under that name as well. Additionally, it is important to search under both legal names and nick names – while most items will be under legal names, it is possible that something could be found under a nick name.

Try using the Free Public Records Directory to locate these unclaimed property databases. One can search by state or simply use the category of unclaimed property to begin your treasure hunt.

President Obama announced in September that White House visitor logs will be available to the public on a regular basis, a decision distinctly at odds with the former administration’s policies. This new policy applies to visitors after September 15th, 2009 and the first online posting of visitors will occur around the end of the year. There are several exceptions to this disclosure policy – personal guests of the Obamas, visitors whose disclosure would compromise national security and those who come for sensitive meetings, an example being a Supreme Court nominee. Those in the later category will be disclosed after they are no longer sensitive.

This new policy does not apply to the vice president’s residence nor to Camp David or Air Force One.

The disclosure policy is voluntary and there is no oversight nor will future presidents be bound by it, however, the precedent will be set and hopefully the seed of full disclosure will continue to grow.

We here at the Free Public Records Directory are pleased at the move towards transparency in the White House. We look forward to the initial release of visitor logs and will be sure to post them on our directory.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) involved a $787 billion federal stimulus that went to states to shore up their finances, create new jobs, upgrade infrastructure and invest in energy-efficient projects. This stimulus plan was to be carried out with transparency and accountability and, accordingly, each state government created a website to outline that state’s role in utilizing this federal stimulus money.

As to be expected, these websites differ in their quality and amount of information they provide. Good Jobs First, an organization involved with accountability at the federal and state level, recently released its report evaluating these state government websites. The study rates each state on a scale of 0 – 100 on two main categories – it’s main Recovery Act website and on its reporting of highway project spending. Ratings were based on whether the following information was provided: planned spending totals, distribution of spending by county, project location maps, contract details including dollar amounts and contractor names, and project status. Additionally, the states websites were rated based on whether the information was up to date and inclusive. Most states did not score very high on this report, with the median score being 25 although scores for highway funds reporting were higher at 38.

We here at the Free Public Records Directory are not surprised at the wide variance in the quality of these government websites. Working with government websites on a daily basis shows us that the level of online access to government records varies greatly from state to state and county to county. Given that some states provide excellent online access to many types of government records only shows that ALL states should be able to provide this same service. We encourage everyone to advocate not only for increased transparency in government records but also to actively lobby for their government agencies to make this information easily available online for all.