US Code Title 13 Section 6

§5

TITLE 13—CENSUS
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

Section is new, and was inserted to conform with 1950
Reorganization Plan No. 5, effective May 24, 1950, §§ 1, 2,
15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263, which is set out as a note
under section 591 of title 5, U. S. C., 1952 ed., Executive
Departments and Government Officers and Employees
[now set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government
Organization and Employees]. That plan transferred all
functions (with a few exceptions not applicable to the
Census Bureau) of all agencies, officers and employees
of the Department of Commerce to the Secretary of
Commerce, and vested power in him to delegate the
functions so transferred, or any of his other functions,
to such agencies, officers or employees within the Department as he designates.
See, also, section 253 of title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., which
provided for delegation of functions in connection with
the quinquennial censuses of governments, and authorized the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations
with respect to such censuses. That section has been
omitted from this revised title, as the provision thereof
for delegation of functions is covered by this section,
and the provision thereof which related to rules and
regulations is covered by section 22 of title 1, U.S.C.,
1952 ed., General Provisions.
Because of the transfer effected by 1950 Reorganization Plan No. 5, referred to above, sections of title 13,
U.S.C., 1952 ed., which prescribed functions of the Bureau of the Census, the Census Office, or the Director
of the Census, have, in this revised title, been changed
to refer to the Secretary.
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
1976—Pub. L. 94–521 inserted ‘‘regulations;’’ in section
catchline, authorized the Secretary to issue such rules
and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the
functions and duties imposed upon him by this title,
authorized delegation of authority to issue such rules
and regulations to officers and employees of the Department of Commerce, and struck out a provision
which allowed delegation of performance of such functions and duties to bureaus and agencies of the Department of Commerce.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–521 effective Oct. 17, 1976,
see section 17 of Pub. L. 94–521, set out as a note under
section 1 of this title.

§ 5. Questionnaires; number, form, and scope of
inquiries
The Secretary shall prepare questionnaires,
and shall determine the inquiries, and the number, form, and subdivisions thereof, for the statistics, surveys, and censuses provided for in
this title.
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1013; Pub. L.
94–521, § 4(a), Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2459.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., §§ 82, 111, 123, 204,
216, 251, and section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952 ed., The
Public Health and Welfare (Mar. 6, 1902, ch. 139, § 7, 32
Stat. 52; June 7, 1906, ch. 3048, 34 Stat. 218; Aug. 7, 1916,
ch. 274, § 2, 39 Stat. 437; June 18, 1929, ch. 28, §§ 3, 4, 16,
46 Stat. 21, 22, 25; 1939 Reorganization Plan No. II, § 4(e),
eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2731, 53 Stat. 1431; 1940 Reorganization Plan No. III, § 3, eff. June 30, 1940, 5 F.R. 2107,
54 Stat. 1232; June 25, 1947, ch. 124, 61 Stat. 163; June 19,
1948, ch. 502, § 3, 62 Stat. 479; July 15, 1949, ch. 338, title
VI, § 607, 63 Stat. 441; Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 910, §§ 1, 4, 64 Stat.
784, 785; July 16, 1952, ch. 912, 66 Stat. 736).

Page 4

Section consolidates section 82 of title 13, U.S.C., 1952
ed., which related to statistics on cottonseed, oilseeds,
nuts and kernels, fats, oils, and greases, with part of
the second sentence of section 111 of such title, which
section related to miscellaneous statistics; with the
first sentence of section 123 of such title, which section
related to censuses of manufacturers, mineral industries, and other businesses; with the second sentence of
section 204 of such title, which section related to censuses of population, agriculture, irrigation, drainage,
etc.; with the third sentence of section 216 of such title,
which section related to censuses of agriculture; with
that part of subsection (b) of section 1442 of title 42,
U.S.C., 1952 ed., which made such sections 204 and 216
applicable to the censuses of housing; and with part of
section 251(b) of such title relating to censuses of governments.
Sections 82, 123 and 204 of title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed.,
provided that the inquiries, etc., should be determined
by the Director of the Census, with the approval of the
Secretary of Commerce. Section 111 thereof provided
that the Director of the Census should prepare the
schedules, etc., and sections 216 and 251(b) thereof (the
former amended in 1952, the latter enacted in 1950) provided that the inquiries, etc., should be determined by
the Secretary of Commerce. This consolidated section
vests such duties in the Secretary of Commerce, which
is in conformity not only with such sections 216 and
251(b), but also with 1950 Reorganization Plan No. 5, §§ 1,
2, effective May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263. See
Revision Note to section 4 of this title.
Changes were made in phraseology.
For remainder of sections 111, 123, 204, 216, and 251 of
title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., and of section 1442 of title 42,
U.S.C., 1952 ed. (which has been transferred in its entirety to this revised title), see Distribution Table.
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
1976—Pub. L. 94–521 substituted ‘‘Questionnaires’’ for
‘‘Schedules’’ in section catchline and in text.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–521 effective Oct. 17, 1976,
see section 17 of Pub. L. 94–521, set out as a note under
section 1 of this title.
RESTRICTION ON COLLECTION OF CENSUS DATA ON RACE
Pub. L. 111–117, div. B, title I, Dec. 16, 2009, 123 Stat.
3115, provided in part: ‘‘That none of the funds provided
in this or any other Act for any fiscal year may be used
for the collection of census data on race identification
that does not include ‘some other race’ as a category’’.
Similar provisions were contained in the following
prior appropriation acts:
Pub. L. 111–8, div. B, title I, Mar. 11, 2009, 123 Stat.
562.
Pub. L. 110–161, div. B, title I, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat.
1887.
Pub. L. 109–108, title II, Nov. 22, 2005, 119 Stat. 2308.
Pub. L. 108–447, div. B, title II, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat.
2876.

§ 6. Information from other Federal departments
and agencies; acquisition of reports from
other governmental and private sources
(a) The Secretary, whenever he considers it
advisable, may call upon any other department,
agency, or establishment of the Federal Government, or of the government of the District of
Columbia, for information pertinent to the work
provided for in this title.
(b) The Secretary may acquire, by purchase or
otherwise, from States, counties, cities, or other

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§8

TITLE 13—CENSUS

units of government, or their instrumentalities,
or from private persons and agencies, such copies of records, reports, and other material as
may be required for the efficient and economical
conduct of the censuses and surveys provided for
in this title.
(c) To the maximum extent possible and consistent with the kind, timeliness, quality and
scope of the statistics required, the Secretary
shall acquire and use information available from
any source referred to in subsection (a) or (b) of
this section instead of conducting direct inquiries.
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1013; Pub. L.
85–207, § 3, Aug. 28, 1957, 71 Stat. 481; Pub. L.
94–521, § 5(a), Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2460.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., §§ 122, 215, 252, and
section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952 ed., The Public
Health and Welfare (June 18, 1929, ch. 28, § 15, 46 Stat.
25; June 19, 1948, ch. 502, § 2, 62 Stat. 479; July 15, 1949,
ch. 338, title VI, § 607, 63 Stat. 441; Sept. 7, 1950, ch. 910,
§ 1, 64 Stat. 784).
Section consolidates section 215 of title 13, U.S.C.,
1952 ed., with those parts of sections 122 and 252 of such
title which respectively made such section 215 applicable to the quinquennial censuses of manufacturers and
the mineral industries and other businesses, and governments, and with that part of subsection (b) of section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952 ed., which made such
section 215 applicable to the decennial censuses of
housing (see subchapters I, II, and III of chapter 5 of
this title). As originally enacted in 1929, such section
215 had related only to the decennial censuses of population, agriculture, etc., the provisions for which are
continued in subchapter II of chapter 5 of this title.
The provisions, as revised in this section, relate, not
only to the censuses referred to above, but also, to all
other investigations provided for in this title. This was
probably the Congressional intent.
Words in section 215 of title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., ‘‘on
request of the Director of the Census’’, were omitted
since all functions under this title are vested primarily
in the Secretary (of Commerce), in view of 1950 Reorganization Plan No. 5, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174,
64 Stat. 1263. See Revision Note to section 4 of this
title.
Changes were made in phraseology.
For remainder of sections 122 and 252 of title 13,
U.S.C., 1952 ed., and of section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C.,
1952 ed. (which has been transferred in its entirety to
this revised title), see Distribution Table.
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
1976—Pub. L. 94–521 substituted ‘‘Information from
other Federal departments and agencies; acquisition of
reports from other governmental and private sources’’
for ‘‘Requests to other departments and offices for information, acquisition of reports from governmental
and other sources’’ in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–521 substituted ‘‘considers’’ for
‘‘deems’’, and ‘‘agency, or establishment of the Federal
Government, or of the government of the District of
Columbia’’ for ‘‘or office of the Government’’.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–521 added subsec. (c).
1957—Pub. L. 85–207 inserted ‘‘, acquisition of reports
from governmental and other sources’’ in section
catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a),
and added subsec. (b).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–521 effective Oct. 17, 1976,
see section 17 of Pub. L. 94–521, set out as a note under
section 1 of this title.

§ 7. Printing; requisitions upon Director of the
Government Publishing Office; publication of
bulletins and reports
The Secretary may make requisition upon the
Director of the Government Publishing Office
for miscellaneous printing necessary to carry
out the provisions of this title. He may further
have printed by the Director of the Government
Publishing Office, in such editions as he deems
necessary, preliminary and other census bulletins, and final reports of the results of the several investigations authorized by this title, and
may publish and distribute such bulletins and
reports.
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1013; Pub. L.
113–235, div. H, title I, § 1301(d), Dec. 16, 2014, 128
Stat. 2537.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., § 213, and section
1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952 ed., The Public Health and
Welfare (June 18, 1929, ch. 28, § 13, 46 Stat. 25; July 15,
1949, ch. 338, title VI, § 607, 63 Stat. 441).
Section consolidates section 213 of title 13, U.S.C.,
1952 ed., with that part of subsection (b) of section 1442
of title 42, U.S.C., 1952 ed., which made such section 213
applicable to the censuses of housing.
The enumeration in section 213 of title 13, U.S.C. 1952
ed., of the types of printing (‘‘Blanks, schedules, circulars, pamphlets, envelopes, work sheets’’) was omitted
as unnecessary and covered by the words ‘‘miscellaneous printing’’.
The provisions have been reworded to make it clear
that they relate to all statistical and census operations
under this title, and changes were made in phraseology.
For remainder of section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952
ed. (which section has been transferred in its entirety
to this revised title), see Distribution Table.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
CHANGE OF NAME
‘‘Director of the Government Publishing Office’’ substituted for ‘‘Public Printer’’ in section catchline and
in two places in text on authority of section 1301(d) of
Pub. L. 113–235, set out as a note under section 301 of
Title 44, Public Printing and Documents.

§ 8. Authenticated transcripts or copies of certain
returns; other data; restriction on use; disposition of fees received
(a) The Secretary may, upon written request,
furnish to any respondent, or to the heir, successor, or authorized agent of such respondent,
authenticated transcripts or copies of reports
(or portions thereof) containing information furnished by, or on behalf of, such respondent in
connection with the surveys and census provided
for in this title, upon payment of the actual or
estimated cost of searching the records and furnishing such transcripts or copies.
(b) Subject to the limitations contained in sections 6(c) and 9 of this title, the Secretary may
furnish copies of tabulations and other statistical materials which do not disclose the information reported by, or on behalf of, any particular respondent, and may make special statistical compilations and surveys, for departments, agencies, and establishments of the Federal Government, the government of the District of Columbia, the government of any possession or area (including political subdivisions