§16. Address information reviewed by States and local governments

(a) The Secretary, to assist efforts to ensure the accuracy of censuses and surveys under this title, shall-

(1) publish standards defining the content and structure of address information which States and local units of general purpose government may submit to the Secretary to be used in developing a national address list;

(2)(A) develop and publish a timetable for the Bureau to receive, review, and respond to submissions of information under paragraph (1) before the decennial census date; and

(B) provide for a response by the Bureau with respect to such submissions in which the Bureau specifies its determinations regarding such information and the reasons for such determinations; and

(3) be subject to the review process developed under section 3 of the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994 relating to responses pursuant to paragraph (2).

(b)(1) The Secretary-

(A) shall provide officials who are designated as census liaisons by a local unit of general purpose government with access to census address information for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the address information of the Bureau for census and survey purposes; and

(B) together with such access, should provide an explanation of duties and obligations under this title.

(2) Access under paragraph (1) shall be limited to address information concerning addresses within the local unit of general purpose government represented by the census liaison or an adjacent local unit of general purpose government.

(3) The Bureau should respond to each recommendation made by a census liaison concerning the accuracy of address information, including the determination (and reasons therefor) of the Bureau regarding each such recommendation.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1), in a case in which a local unit of general purpose government is within another local unit of general purpose government and is not independent of the enclosing unit, the census liaison shall be designated by the local unit of general purpose government which is within the enclosing local unit of general purpose government.

(5) A census liaison may not use information made available under paragraph (1) for any purpose other than the purpose specified in paragraph (1).

(c) For the purposes of this section-

(1) the term "local unit of general purpose government" has the meaning given such term by section 184(1) of this title; and

(2) the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

(Added Pub. L. 103–430, §2(a), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4393 .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 3 of the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is section 3 of Pub. L. 103–430, set out below.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Development of Appeals Process by Administrator of Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Pub. L. 103–430, §3, Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4394 , provided that: "The Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, acting through the Chief Statistician and in consultation with the Bureau of the Census, shall develop an appeals process for those States and local units of general purpose government which desire to appeal determinations of the Bureau of the Census pursuant to section 16(a)(2) or (b)(3) of title 13, United States Code. Appeals under such process shall be resolved before the decennial census date. The Chief Statistician shall publish the proposed appeals process for a period of public comment before finalizing such process."