13 U.S.C. § 225 — Applicability of penal provisions in certain cases

(a) For any survey the Secretary or another authorized Department of Commerce officer or employee (or a bureau or agency within it) runs under subchapter IV of chapter 5 of this title, the rules in sections 221, 222, 223, and 224 of this title apply only if: (1) the questions being asked and information being requested are within the scope of, and the same type as, what was historically used in complete censuses under subchapters I and II of chapter 5, or in censuses taken under those subchapters since; (2) the Secretary (or another authorized official, with the Secretary's approval) has first published a certified explanation that the information is needed to help perform essential government functions or services, or is significantly useful to the public, business, or industry, and is not already available from other government or private sources; and (3) for any brand-new survey, the Secretary or other authorized official has given public notice at least 30 days before requesting responses that the survey is being considered. (b) The imprisonment penalty under section 222 does not apply to surveys run under subchapter II of chapter 3, or under subchapter IV of chapter 5, of this title. (c) Sections 221, 222, 223, and 224 do not apply to censuses or surveys of governments under subchapters III and IV of chapter 5, or to other surveys under subchapter IV that are taken more often than once a year. (d) If a religious denomination or church's doctrine, teaching, or discipline forbids disclosing membership information, refusing to give that information under those circumstances is not a crime under this chapter.