Monthly Archives: April 2015

The Federal Register passed the 20,000-page mark in a big way, with Thursday and Friday’s editions alone accounting for more 1,200 pages. New regulations cover everything from macadamia insurance to net neutrality.

On to the data:

• Last week, 57 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 39 new regulations the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 57 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 850 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,872 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total.
• Last week, 2,127 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,120 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 21,533 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 72,747 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Six such rules have been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $693 million to $746 million for the current year.
• 73 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 159 new rules affect small businesses; 25 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Social Security Administration is revising its criteria for evaluating hematological disorders and growth disorders and weight loss.
• The IRS issued a correction to a recent rule intended to make it easier for non-profit organizations to apply for 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. No word yet on whether this will apply to all groups, or only those with political views in line with whichever party is currently in power.
• Fossil preservation regulations for government-owned forests.
• The federal government sells macadamia tree insurance. The FDIC just issued a revision to the program.
• If you want to renovate an old building that has lead paint, the EPA requires you to take a certification course, as well as periodic re-certification courses.
• 15 new EPA regulations for the week, in total.
• The Coast Guard issued four regulations determining when certain drawbridges go up and down in Oregon, Maine, and Louisiana.
• The FCC published its 114-page net neutrality rule.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter.

It was a slower week than usual, with 34 proposed regulations and fewer than 40 final regulations covering everything from missile exports to hydropower. Even so, the 2015 Federal Register will likely top the 20,000-page mark on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

On to the data:

• Last week, 39 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 68 new regulations the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every four hours and 19 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 779 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,822 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total.
• Last week, 1,120 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,755 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 19,406 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 70,312 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Six such rules have been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $693 million to $746 million for the current year.
• 68 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 151 new rules affect small businesses; 25 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• A new EPA ozone-related regulation for refrigerators and air conditioners.
• Vacaturs for gasification, also courtesy of the EPA.
• The EPA is also removing a site in Utah from its list of Superfund sites, although “this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.”
• In fact, with 10 new final regulations, the EPA accounted for more than a quarter of the week’s rulemaking. See them all here, along with the 11,785 final regulations the EPA has issued since 1994.
• If your business exports missiles, take note of revised security regulations.
• Revised fees for hydropower generated on government-owned land.
• A new regulation changes the name of the federal government’s Anti-Infective Drugs Committee to the Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter.

It was a fairly typical week, with nearly 70 final regulations and more than 50 proposed regulations hitting the books, covering everything from potato handling to flying fuel cells. The big story to keep an eye out for is the preliminary version of the FCC’s net neutrality regulations, which should be appearing shortly. See here for CEI research on net neutrality.

On to the data:

• Last week, 68 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 58 new regulations the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 28 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 742 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,898 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total.
• Last week, 1,755 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,398 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 18,286 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 71,430 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Six such rules have been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $693 million to $746 million for the current year.
• 66 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 146 new rules affect small businesses; 25 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• Fun fact: the federal government has issued 142 regulations concerning Irish potatoes since 1994. The most recent one is here; the whole list is here.
• The FCC announced that the OMB approved its information collection rules for the next three years regarding an incentive auction for electromagnetic spectrum.
• A new regulation under the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act.
• A land plan for abandoned mines in Mississippi.
• A correction to health insurance exchange regulations from the Affordable Care act. Keep an eye out for another correction towards the end of June.
• Thinking of putting your spare fuel cell cartridges in your checked baggage next time you fly? Think again.
• The northern long-eared bat is now a threatened species.
• Fireworks naming regulations.
• The Education Department is revising its in-house rules for complying with the Freedom of Information Act.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter.