Act on Public Statistics (StatG) - Purpose (StatG)

1. This law regulates the tasks and organization of public statistics in the Canton of Thurgau.

2. It promotes cooperation with the federal government, the cantons, and the municipalities, as well as with the offices within the cantonal administration in the field of public statistics.

3. It ensures access to the results of statistical activities.

1. In this Act, the following terms mean

1. Public Statistics: statistical activities primarily serving to inform the state and society.

2. Statistical Activities: the collection, processing, aggregation, analysis, and interpretation of data using statistical methods as well as the storage, dissemination, and documentation of the results obtained. Activities that use statistical methods but are directly employed for planning, management, execution, or verification of public tasks are not considered statistical.

3. Statistical Data: data serving statistical purposes and not used as individual data for enforcement purposes.

4. Statistical Information: insights regarding the characteristics and relationships of mass phenomena obtained from the aggregation of individual data.

5. Public Body: an authority or office of the canton and municipalities as well as public law corporations and institutions. Private individuals, private organizations, and organizationally independent municipal enterprises are equivalent to public bodies, insofar as they fulfill state or municipal tasks.

1. This law applies to public authorities that are active in the field of public statistics.

2. It also applies to individuals and organizations that perform relevant activities on behalf of a public authority.

3. It does not apply to scientific activities of educational and research institutions.

1. Public statistics provide the authorities of the canton and municipalities, as well as the public, with information on the status and development of important areas of life, particularly regarding population, economy, society, space, and environment.

1. The canton shall establish a central and professionally independent office for statistics.

2. The office for statistics shall

1. perform statistical activities;

2. provide services in the field of statistics;

3. coordinate the statistical activities of the canton and ensure professional exchange among those entities engaged in statistical work;

4. develop the foundations for the planning of the canton's major statistical activities.

3. It shall be informed by the offices of the cantonal administration about planned statistical surveys.

1. The Executive Council plans the most important statistical activities of the canton in a multi-year program.

2. The multi-year program is presented to the Grand Council for their information.

1. Statistical activities shall be conducted according to recognized scientific principles and methods.

2. Public bodies shall provide statistical information with details about data sources and definitions of terms and shall document collection and evaluation methods.

1. Public bodies primarily obtain the data required for their statistical activities from the data holdings of the federal government, cantons, and municipalities as well as other public bodies.

2. Public bodies provide the statistical office with the corresponding data from their data collections.

1. If the required data cannot be obtained from government databases, or can only be obtained with disproportionate effort, they may be collected directly through surveys of individuals or institutions.

2. Direct surveys must be limited to a minimum in terms of the number and scope of respondents.

1. Public authorities are obligated to provide information and cooperate in the field of public statistics.

2. Private individuals may be obligated to provide information and cooperate if the method of collection and the significance of the statistics require it.

1. Organs or private parties obligated to provide information or cooperation shall furnish truthful information.

1. The provision of information and cooperation shall not be compensated.

2. Compensation may be granted for special expenses incurred by private individuals.

1. Upon request of the competent department or the state chancellery, the government council decides on the execution of direct surveys.

2. The competent department or the state chancellery orders, by a contestable decision

1. The obligation of private individuals to provide information and cooperation;

2. The granting of compensations.

1. For activities within the scope of public statistics, the necessary and appropriate data, including personal data, may be processed.

1. Data collected or processed within the scope of public statistics concerning individual natural or legal persons is treated with strict confidentiality. No statistical information is disseminated that could allow conclusions to be drawn about individual persons.

2. Personal data collected for statistical activities is anonymized or deleted as soon as and to the extent that the purpose of processing permits.

1. Data collected for statistical purposes may not be used for other purposes.

2. Federal laws or cantonal laws may provide for exceptions.

1. All data collected, processed, and stored within the framework of public statistics must be protected against misuse by organizational and technical measures.

2. Statistical data shall be stored in such a way as to ensure their long-term usability.

1. For the fulfillment of its statistical tasks, the Statistics Office may link data from different areas.

2. Linked personal data shall only be stored in anonymized form. The non-anonymized interim results generated during the linking process may not be stored.

1. For statistical activities, the insurance number according to the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVG) can be used.

1. For purposes of statistics, research, and planning, statistical data may be disseminated in anonymized form to entities outside the cantonal administration.

2. §§ 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, and 22 concerning the processing, protection, security, publication, and use of data shall also apply to the entities outside the cantonal administration as referred to in paragraph 1.

1. Statistical information shall be published or made accessible in an appropriate manner corresponding to the user groups.

2. Access is generally free of charge. If data processing is necessary for a specific request and involves significant effort, a fee may be charged.

3. The statistical information published or made accessible should not allow for any conclusions to be drawn about individual persons unless they have given prior written consent for publication.

1. Published or accessible results of statistical activities may be used and reproduced without permission, provided the source is cited.