HARTFORD, CT (WCBS 880) - Officials in Connecticut say some out-of-state companies are trying to slip under the radar in the Constitution State.

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau Reports

Connecticut’s new Secretary of the State Denise Merrill says about 300 companies have dodged the requirement to register with her office.

Merrill has collected more than a $1 million in fines, but says she wants to stress the importance of registering.

She says companies need to register with the state so someone can be held responsible if something goes wrong with their products or services.

“We don’t collect a great deal of information, just enough to make sure consumers have recourse if something goes wrong,” Merrill told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau. “The whole purpose of registering a corporation is to make sure that if anyone does business in the State of Connecticut, that a consumer that interacts and buys something from a company or has work done on their house or something like that, that there is someone who will be held accountable.”

She says many Connecticut businesses complain of being undercut by companies that fail to register.

What do you think? Sound off below in our comments section…