Category Archives: regulation

An otherwise slow week ended with a bang on Friday, with 27 new regulations, or nearly half the week’s total, covering everything from calorie counts to gas vapors.

On to the data:

• Last week, 60 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 72 new regulations the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 48 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 548 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,796 new regulations this year, which would be nearly 1,000 fewer rules than the usual total.
• Last week, 1,157 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,242 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 13,467 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 68,710 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Five 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 $647 million to $700 million for the current year.
• 55 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 111 new rules affect small businesses; 19 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• Hillary Clinton’s email scandal has put transparency failures in the news. These failures are widespread. In one case that has generated almost no media attention, the Fish and Wildlife Service flat-out refused to perform cost-benefit analysis on one of its new rules because “The Service does not use cost-benefit considerations when making listing decisions under the Lacey Act.” That the agency is able to publish such a sentence without consequence says much about the state of federal transparency, and is a convincing case for reforming or repealing the Lacey Act. The government’s armed raid of the Gibson guitar company on Lacey Act grounds a few years ago is another argument.
• The Hawaiian monk seal’s new doubly scientific name is (Neomonachus schauinslandi (=Monachus schauinslandi)).
• Updates to pipeline safety rules.
• Many chain restaurants are required to post calorie information on their menus. As a possible early warning of mission creep, the FDA is issuing a nutrition labeling guide for mom-and-pop restaurants.
• New gasoline vapor recovery requirements in Illinois.
• The Department of Health and Human Services issued a new regulation to describe its logo.
• A correction to the EPA’s mandatory greenhouse gas reporting regulations.

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

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the King v. Burwell case last week. The decision, likely to appear in June, will determine in part whether regulatory agencies are allowed to rewrite legislation passed by Congress. Other than that, it was business as usual, with new regulations covering everything from 15 EPA rules to school lunches.

On to the data:

• Last week, 72 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 65 new regulations the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 20 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 488 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,542 new regulations this year, which would be roughly 1,000 fewer rules than the usual total.
• Last week, 1,242 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,715 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 12,310 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 69,944 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Five 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 $647 million to $700 million for the current year.
• 48 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 108 new rules affect small businesses; 17 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• Corrections to recent energy efficiency rules for walk-in freezers and “certain industrial equipment.”
• The Federal Election Commission is updating its restrictions on political speech.
• 15 new EPA regulations. See them all here.
• The Cheesequake Creek runs through Morgan, New Jersey. The federal government regulates when a drawbridge crossing the creek goes up and down. A new regulation alters that schedule to allow for repairs.
• A similar federal regulation affects a drawbridge running over the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina.
• A one-paragraph FDA regulation removes another paragraph from its list of banned devices.
• Whistleblower rules from Sarbanes-Oxley, updated under Dodd-Frank.
• Rural Call Completion Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements.
• One way the FCC prevents open competition is by regulating foreign Internet Service Providers. By raising their costs, this artificially advantages domestic ISPs. A new regulation updates foreign providers’ information collection requirements.
• The federal government now regulates hiring requirements for lunch workers at local governments’ public schools.

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

The FCC, inspired by a law passed in 1934, unveiled its controversial plan to regulate the Internet as a public utility. Beyond that it was a week like any other, with new regulations covering everything from biomass crops to walk-in freezers.

On to the data:

• Last week, 65 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 40 new regulations the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 28 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 416 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,667 new regulations this year, which would be roughly 1,000 fewer rules than the usual total.
• Last week, 1,715 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,118 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 11,068 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 70,949 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Five 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 $647 million to $700 million for the current year.
• 42 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 97 new rules affect small businesses; 15 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The federal government runs a Biomass Crop Assistance Program. A new rule reduces the amount of subsidies farmers can claim under the program.
• Recordkeeping and reporting requirements for medical devices.
• The FCC issued a correction to last year’s rule intended to improve 911 service.
• The Department of Health and Human Services is outlining its medical care payment policies for 2016, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.
• As part of the federal government’s ongoing quest to shrink its Department of Redundancy Department, it is consolidating three agricultural land-use programs into a single program.
• A 13-page definition of the word “spouse.”
• Energy conservation standards for walk-in freezers.

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

Even in a shortened work week due to Martin Luther King Day, federal agencies still put out 40 final regulations and more than 50 proposed regulations, covering everything from pet stores to drywall.

On to the data:

• Last week, 40 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, the same number as the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every four hours and 12 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 118 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 1,967 new regulations this year, which would be far less than the usual total.
• Last week, 1,271 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 3,857 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 64,284 pages, which would be the lowest page count since 1992.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. One such rule has been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations is $477 million for the current year.
• 12 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 21 new rules affect small businesses; 4 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a technical amendment to its licensing regulations for pet stores.
• In 2012, Congress passed the Drywall Safety Act. On Friday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission codified the ASTM C1396-14a standard for drywall.
• The Agricultural Marketing Service is lowering its assessment rate on grapefruit grown in Texas’ lower Rio Grande Valley.
• It is also relaxing its potato-handling regulations in certain parts of Colorado.
• New regulations for arresting, detaining, charging, and questioning journalists.

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

It was another slow week with just 40 new final regulations and 37 proposed regulations, but new rules still cover everything from solid waste to washing machines.

On to the data:

• Last week, 40 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every four hours and 12 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 78 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 1,773 new regulations this year, roughly half the usual total.
• Last week, 1,119 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 2,586 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 58,773 pages, which would be the lowest page count since 1992.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. One such rule has been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance cost of 2015’s economically significant regulations is $477 million for the current year.
• 8 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 13 new rules affect small businesses; 4 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The EPA issued a 122-page definition of “solid waste.”
• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has indefinitely delayed a rule restricting imports and interstate movement of certain fish.
• In line with the recent move to open up U.S.-Cuba relations, the Industry and Security Bureau and the Foreign Assets Control Office issued new rules to begin implementing policy changes.
• The Mexican wolf is now an endangered species. An additional regulation covers an experimental population in Arizona and New Mexico intended to increase the Mexican wolf’s range.
• The FAA is withdrawing a rule which increased “the allowed use of aviation training devices” instead of actual flights for certain airplane pilot certification programs.
• In 2008, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act ended the Export Enhancement Program and the Dairy Export Incentive Program. Seven years later, the Commodity Credit Corporation issued a rule to remove regulations related to those programs from the Code of Federal Regulations.
• New energy efficiency standards for commercial washing machines.
• Mining machines are now required to have proximity detection systems.

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

The federal government took Thursday and Friday off to celebrate the holidays. Despite the rare three-day work week, agencies still published 25 proposed regulations, more than 40 final regulations, and an average of more than 500 Federal Register pages per day—much of which consisted of the overdue Unified Agenda, an important transparency document collection compiling upcoming regulations from every agency at various stages of the rulemaking process. If past years are a guide, the Unified Agenda’s holiday timing, precisely geared to when even many of us watchdogs are on vacation, is not a coincidence. CEI scholars will soon have much to say about this repeated transparency failure.

On to the data:

• Last week, 41 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 69 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every four hours and 6 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 3,487 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,529 new regulations this year.
• Last week, 1,605 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 77,810 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 78,756 pages. This would be the 6^th-largest page count since the Federal Register began publication in 1936.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 44 such rules have been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $6.48 billion to $9.95 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 281 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 655 new rules affect small businesses; 98 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Federal Election Commission decided to remove one of its many restrictions on political speech. Or rather, it was forced to.
• A correction to the EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program.
• If you cause a train accident that causes less than $10,500 of damage, you don’t have to report it to the federal government.
• The federal government has a Children and Families Administration. It has issued new federal standards “To Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment Involving Unaccompanied Children.”
• The FCC issued both another rule and a correction to its recent spectrum auction rule.
• Slight loosening of federal work-hour rules for truck drivers.

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

As 2014 draws to a close, regulators had themselves a busy week with 50 proposed regulations, more than 2,000 Federal Register pages, and 69 new final regulations covering everything from washing machines to plants for planting.

On to the data:

• Last week, 69 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 63 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 26 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 3,446 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,545 new regulations this year.
• Last week, 2,211 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 76,025 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 78,207 pages. This would be the 6^th-largest page count since the Federal Register began publication in 1936.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 44 such rules have been published so far this year, none in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $6.48 billion to $9.95 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 279 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 649 new rules affect small businesses; 98 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• New vehicle inspection regulations for commercial drivers will save an estimated $1.7 billion per year by removing redundant rules and procedures, and reducing paperwork burdens.
• A new rule on federal rewards affects 33 agencies.
• Interesting wording with this one: “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (‘FDIC’) is adopting a final rule to rescind and remove regulations entitled ‘Loans in Areas Having Flood Hazards’ and to amend regulations entitled ‘Loans in Areas Having Flood Hazards.’”
• The Personnel Management Office is electing to “discontinue the annual determination of the Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) for the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program.”
• Porbeagle shark fishing season is officially over.
• New regulation for the Importation of Plants for Planting.
• Energy conservation standards for commercial washing machines.
• A $10.10 hourly minimum wage is on the way for contractors working for the Defense Department, General Services Administration, and NASA.

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