Category Archives: regulation

As it zoomed past the 45,000-page mark, the 2015 Federal Register saw new regulations covering everything from space particles to raspberries.

On to the data:

• Last week, 71 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 74 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 22 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,946 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,201 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,586 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,540 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 45,795 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 77,882 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Nineteen such rules have been published so far this year, three in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $1.32 billion to $1.41 billion for the current year.
• 165 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 331 new rules affect small businesses; 51 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• A new economically significant Medicare regulation, which is updated annually, will increase government spending by an estimated $430 million compared to last year. Since this is spending and not compliance costs, I am scoring this rule as zero-cost in our running compliance cost tally.
• Ditto with a second annually-updated economically significant Medicare regulation, which will increase government spending in 2016 by an estimated $160 million.
• And a third economically significant Medicare regulation will increase next year’s government spending by an estimated $135 million.
• Sanctions against Russian oil reserves.
• The federal government now officially recognizes the Squaw Valley-Miramonte viticultural area.
• A Pandemic Influenza Countermeasures Injury Table.
• The Georgetown salamander is now an endangered species. They are sometimes confused for members of Congress who come from old money, and will receive designated critical habitat in the near future.
• Processed raspberry research.
• Energy efficiency tests for washing machines.
• Duty-free entry for particles from space. See also this related post from CEI’s archives.

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

One of this week’s 55 proposed regulations is a 264-page Interior Department regulation to prevent water stream pollution from coal mines. Final rules published cover everything from dairy tariffs to extension cords.

On to the data:

• Last week, 74 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 65 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 16 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,875 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,189 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,586 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,540 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 45,795 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 77,882 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Sixteen 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 $1.32 billion to $1.41 billion for the current year.
• 157 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 323 new rules affect small businesses; 48 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• Dairy tariffs.
• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, extension cords are hazardous.
• Pollution standards for cement manufacturers in Portland.
• Energy efficiency tests for vending machines.
• And dehumidifiers.
• Interstate transport of fine particulate matter.
• The Honduran emerald hummingbird is now an endangered species.
• The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently published greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for larger vehicles. They will be holding public hearings on August 6 and August 18 concerning the rule.

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

The Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill turned five years old this week (see CEI analysis here, here, and here). Other than that, it was business as usual, with 44 proposed regulations and more than 60 final regulations covering everything from bigeye tuna to heat pumps.

On to the data:

• Last week, 65 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 78 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 35 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,801 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,171 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,540 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 2,764 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 44,209 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 77,833 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Sixteen 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 $1.32 billion to $1.41 billion for the current year.
• 150 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 313 new rules affect small businesses; 46 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau decided to celebrate its fifth anniversary by delaying the implementation of one of that bill’s 398 regulations until October 3.
• A Defense Department rule concerning consumer credit for service members meets the qualifications for economic significance, with a first-year estimated cost of $106 million. But since the rule does not specifically declare it as economically significant, I can’t count it that way in our running tally.
• Minor correction to a recent fuel-efficiency regulations for larger cars and trucks.
• Catch limits for bigeye tuna, in case they don’t see you coming.
• Energy conservation standards for Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners and Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps

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

It was a busy week for the Federal Register, which included a 629-page proposed regulation from the EPA for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy for cars and trucks, as well as final regulations covering everything from finishing wood to inspecting tunnels.

On to the data:

• Last week, 78 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 56 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and nine minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,736 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,168 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 2,764 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,647 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 42,669 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 77,864 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Sixteen such rules have been published so far this year, one in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $1.32 billion to $1.41 billion for the current year.
• 145 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 298 new rules affect small businesses; 46 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• There is some controversy over whether or not a new Affordable Care Act regulation is economically significant. The Office of Management and Budget argues that the rule meets the broader definition of “significant.” That much we’re sure about. But even though OMB expects the rule to have annual impacts greater than $100 million, it does not call it “economically significant.” The Treasury Department, meanwhile, conducted its own analysis and argued that the rule does not even qualify as “significant,” and that “a regulatory assessment is not required.” Whatever the rule’s actual significance and cost, the Treasury Department’s lack of commitment to transparency is troubling. For out tally’s purposes, I am not counting this rule as economically significant, so its costs do not factor into our running cost tally.
• An economically significant EPA regulation for underground storage tanks will cost an estimated $160 million per year.
• A new HUD regulation hope to reduce neighborhood segregation.
• If you want to use heavy elements to finish wood, read this regulation first.
• Energy efficiency standards for commercial-grade HVAC systems and water heaters.
• Tunnel inspection standards.

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

The newest batch of federal regulations cover everything from municipal fireworks shows to Venezuelan sanctions. On Monday, the Federal Register will likely pass the 40,000-page mark.

On to the data:

• Last week, 56 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 91 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation precisely every three hours.
• So far in 2015, 1,658 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,140 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,647 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,478 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 39,905 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 75,578 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Fifteen such rules have been published so far this year, one in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $1.16 billion to $1.25 billion for the current year.
• 138 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 281 new rules affect small businesses; 43 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• A The FDA is delaying its calorie-count regulations for restaurants and grocery stores until after the 2016 election.
• Sanctions against Venezuela.
• A new FCC regulation will make “emergency information in video programming accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.”
• 21 new Coast Guard regulations, mostly establishing safety zones for fireworks shows and scheduling when drawbridges go up and down.

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

It was a short work week due to the July 4 holiday, but regulators still managed to publish 34 proposed regulations and more than 90 final regulations covering everything from cranberries to rules of acquisition.

On to the data:

• Last week, 91 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 64 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every one hour and 51 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,602 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,071 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,154-plus.
• Last week, 1,478 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,343 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 38,258 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 75,312 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Fourteen such rules have been published so far this year, one in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $1.14 billion to $1.22 billion for the current year.
• 133 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 269 new rules affect small businesses; 40 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• A newly revised 75-page definition of “waters of the United States” is so broad we at CEI half-jokingly refer to it as “moistures of the United States.” The EPA apparently also has a sense of humor, arguing that “This rule establishing the definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ by itself, imposes no direct costs,” then declines to offer any cost estimates, direct or indirect.
• A liberalizing of beef imports from Brazil will cause a small harm to domestic beef producers, but will have huge benefits for consumers, to the economically significant tune of $358.36 million in net benefits. It is rare that diffuse, lobbyless consumers win out over a concentrated, politically connected group of producers, so this partial deregulation (importers will have to obey strict requirements) is worth celebrating. A similar, but smaller rule does the same for Argentina.
• Energy efficiency testing rules for ovens. And for packaged terminal air conditioners and heat pumps.
• 16 new rules of acquisition. Read them all here.
• The federal government has a Cranberry Marketing Board. Doing some basic math from the numbers on its homepage, the average cranberry worker makes more than $300,000 per year, so they hardly need government assistance. Even so, growers must report their sales history to the Board.
• Following the recent nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage, the SEC is revising its in-house definitions of “marriage” and “spouse” to bring them up to speed. Other agencies will likely follow suit in the coming months.
• The Mount Charleston blue butterfly is the unwitting recipient of 5,214 acres of critical habitat in Nevada.

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

The big news from last week was the Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell decision, which upheld the IRS’ right to issue regulations directly contradicting legislation passed by Congress and signed by the president. But other agencies also issued more than 60 new regulations covering everything from cotton farmers’ conduct to infant formula.

On to the data:

• Last week, 64 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 81 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 38 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,511 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,071 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,343 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,542 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 36,780 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 74,757 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Thirteen such rules have been published so far this year, two in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $1.50 billion to $1.57 billion for the current year.
• 125 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 261 new rules affect small businesses; 37 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• New electronic stability control systems for heavy vehicles, courtesy of this new62-page regulation, will cost an estimated $113.6 million.
• Anti-vaxxers must have good lobbyists, because the federal government isexpanding its vaccine injury compensation program.
• If you live in a rural area and make renewable biofuels, you might be eligible for a share of $50 million in government subsidies this year and next.
• Now that it’s 2015, the Agricultural Marketing Service is allowing farmers to submit more of their forms electronically.
• The federal government has a Cotton Research and Promotion Board—which even has its own hall of fame. If you want to join the program, here are new rules of conduct you must follow during the sign-up period.
• New selenium regulations for infant formula.

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

The Federal Register passed the 35,000-page mark with new regulations covering everything from food additives to chimpanzees.

On to the data:

• Last week, 81 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 64 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 4 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,446 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of exactly 3,064 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,542 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,752 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 35,437 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 75,078 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Eleven 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 $1.39 billion to $1.46 billion for the current year.
• 119 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 255 new rules affect small businesses; 35 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Department of Health and Human Services is doing a bit of housekeeping by removing what it terms “obsolete regulations.” More agencies should do this on a regular basis.
• The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission added an address change to 1611.3, paragraph (b)(3) of 29 CFR 900-1899.
• The Treasury Department will now set the interest rate on secure immigration bonds.
• The FDA gave the green light to a food additive called TBHQ.
• All chimpanzees, whether wild or captive, are to be treated as an endangered species.
• As part of the loosening of the Cuba embargo, the Foreign Assets Control Office is amending its in-house list of state sponsors of terrorism.
• Seven substances will continue to be allowed in organic food, as the Agricultural Marketing Service defines the term.

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

It was a prolific week for the Federal Register, with more than 1,700 pages covering everything from real estate appraisal to water banks.

On to the data:

• Last week, 64 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 65 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 38 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,365 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of exactly 3,020 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,752 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,344 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 33,895 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 74,989 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Eleven such rules have been published so far this year, two in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations ranges from $1.39 billion to $1.46 billion for the current year.
• 114 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 235 new rules affect small businesses; 34 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• New electronic travel authorization rules from the Homeland Security Department meet the $100 million threshold, despite costing an estimated $22 million to $24 million per year. This is because the agency estimates the benefits from the new program will exceed $100 million per year.
• New Medicare rules will save an estimated $780 million in federal spending over fiscal years 2016-18, which also qualifies as economically significant.
• New minimum requirements for appraisal management companies, as part of the Dodd-Frank Act.
• The federal government runs a Water Bank Program. Native American tribal lands are eligible to participate.
• A 147-page EPA regulation for federal standards for state-level regulations.
• Mandatory greenhouse gas reporting, also courtesy of the EPA.

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

New regulations last week covered everything from growing cherries to airport security fees to preventing collisions at sea.

On to the data:

• Last week, 65 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 70 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 35 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 1,301 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of exactly 3,012 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,344 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 980 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 32,143 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 74,406 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Nine 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 $1.36 billion to $1.44 billion for the current year.
• 109 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 220 new rules affect small businesses; 33 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

·       The federal government has a Cherry Industry Administrative Board. Relatedly, if you grow tart cherries in Michigan, you owe the federal government money.

·       New FDA classification for the rectal control system.

·       Every time you go through the TSA’s security checkpoints, you get charged for it, despite their recently uncovered 95 percent failure rate in finding dangerous items. A new regulation places a cap on that fee for roundtrip fliers.

·       New energy conservation rules for fluorescent lamp ballasts.

·       Preventing collisions at sea.

·       Rules for practicing law before the Postal Service.

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