Title: American Community Survey Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
American Community Survey Act
This bill requires the Department of Commerce to include in instructions for completing any survey relating to the Census a statement that answering any questions other than questions that elicit the name of the respondent, contact information, the date of the response, or the number of people living or staying at the same address where the respondent resides is optional. No person may be fined or otherwise compelled to answer questions in connection with the survey commonly known as the American Community Survey (except for the questions permitted by this bill).

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1305 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1305

   To make participation in the American Community Survey voluntary, 
except with respect to certain basic questions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2017

    Mr. Poe of Texas (for himself, Mr. Massie, Mr. Duncan of South 
   Carolina, Mr. Luetkemeyer, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Olson, Mr. Bishop of 
  Michigan, and Ms. Jenkins of Kansas) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To make participation in the American Community Survey voluntary, 
except with respect to certain basic questions, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Community Survey Act''.

SEC. 2. PARTICIPATION IN AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY.

    (a) Optional Questions.--Section 193 of title 13, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The Secretary 
shall include, in the instructions for completing any survey authorized 
under this section, a statement indicating that answering any question 
other than questions that solicit the information described in section 
221(c)(2)(A) is optional.''.
    (b) Refusal To Participate.--Section 221 of title 13, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Whoever, being over 
        eighteen years of age,'' and inserting ``Except as provided in 
        subsection (c), any person older than 18 years of age who''; 
        and
            (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision under this title--
            ``(A) no person may be compelled to disclose information 
        relative to the person's religious beliefs or to membership in 
        a religious body; and
            ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), no person may be 
        fined or otherwise compelled to answer questions in connection 
        with the survey, conducted by the Secretary of Commerce, which 
        is commonly referred to as the `American Community Survey'.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1)(B)--
            ``(A) shall not apply to any question that elicits--
                    ``(i) the name of the respondent;
                    ``(ii) contact information for the respondent;
                    ``(iii) the date of the response; or
                    ``(iv) the number of people living or staying at 
                the same address; and
            ``(B) does not waive any penalty imposed for conduct 
        described in subsection (b).''.
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