Category Archives: regulation

The number of new regulations this year broke the 1,000 mark, and the number of rules affecting small businesses passed 200.

On to the data:

• Last week, 60 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 84 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 48 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 1,012 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,163 new regulations this year. This would be the lowest total in decades; this will likely change as the year goes on.
• Last week, 1,248 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 23,229 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 72,591 pages, which would be the lowest total since 2009.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 12 such rules have been published so far this year, none of them in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $1.64 billion to $2.01 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 81 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 203 new rules affect small businesses; 27 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Energy Department revised its protocols for dealing with Freedom of Information Act requests.
• On May 8, there will be a fireworks show in Baltimore near the Patapsco River. The federal government is establishing a temporary safety zone in the area near the show.
• The Copyright Royalty Board established new royalty rates for certain types of recordings.
• The federal government employs a number of auto mechanics. A new regulation updates their pay.
• The Agricultural Marketing Service has lowered its assessment rate on spearmint oil growers in the Far West region from 10 cents to 9 cents per pound.
• Ballonbau Wörner GmbH balloons are subject to new airworthiness requirements from the FAA.
• Residents of the Milwaukee-Racine area in Wisconsin will be pleased to find out that they are now in compliance with the EPA’s fine particle air quality standards.
• New testing procedures for energy efficiency in refrigerators and freezers.

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

It was a busy week with more than 80 new regulations. This coming week, the number of new regulations on the year should top 1,000, and the Federal Register’s page count will top 22,000.

On to the data:

• Last week, 84 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 59 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation precisely every 2 hours.
• So far in 2014, 952 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,173 new regulations this year. This would be the lowest total in decades; this will likely change as the year goes on.
• Last week, 1,254 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 21,981 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 73,270 pages, which would be the lowest total since 2009.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 12 such rules have been published so far this year, none of them in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $1.64 billion to $2.01 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 80 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 196 new rules affect small businesses; 27 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• If you have a mechanical power press, be aware of new recordkeeping requirements from OSHA.
• The federal government owns a $350 million Legal Services Corporation, which provides legal services to people who can’t afford it. It established new restrictions on its services for aliens.
• 11 new EPA regulations, mostly having to do with air quality plans in various states.
• Implementation of the Basel III capital reserve standards for banks continues.
• The FDA set the maximum acceptable dose of crustacean irradiation at 6.0 kiloGray. Irradiating food kills off food-borne pathogens that could make people sick.
• The FDA also reclassified stair-climbing wheelchairs from class III to class II devices.

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

Two new economically significant regulations last week will impose more than half a billion dollars in compliance costs on the economy. The additional 57 regulations agencies finalized last week will hopefully be less impactful.

On to the data:

• Last week, 59 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 79 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 51 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 868 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,100 new regulations this year. This would be the lowest total in decades; this will likely change as the year goes on.
• Last week, 1,766 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 20,727 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 74,025 pages, which would be the lowest total since 2009.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 12 such rules have been published so far this year, two of them in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $1.64 billion to $2.01 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 77 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 184 new rules affect small businesses; 26 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• A new regulation requiring all new cars to have rearview cameras installed garnered national attention last week, not least because it will add $132 to $142 to the cost of low-end cars; consumers on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum are not happy. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates compliance costs of $546 million to $620 million.
• The week’s other economically significant rule comes from OSHA, which issued new safety standards for electrical equipment. It will have compliance costs of $47.1 to $49.5 million. The rule meets the $100 million economically significant threshold because OSHA multiplied an arbitrary estimate of lives saved  and an arbitrary dollar value for each of those lives, plus an estimated number of prevented injuries and an arbitrary dollar value for each injury. That pushes its estimated benefits to $179.2 million per year.
• The FDA approved the use of spirulina extract as food coloring. Spirulina extract is dried cyanobacteria, and is popular among health food enthusiasts.
• The lesser prairie-chicken is now a threatened species.
• The Mazama pocket gopher is neither a threatened nor endangered species, but three of its subspecies are the unwitting recipients of more than 1,600 acres of critical habitat in Washington State.
• In 2011, the federal government issued a Christmas Tree Promotion, Research, and Information Order. As part of the Order, and also to make Adam Smith roll over in his grave, Christmas trees will now be taxed in order to increase demand for them.

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

After a slow start to the year, regulations are now coming out at their usual pace, with nearly 80 rules last week. The Federal Register will likely exceed 20,000 pages this week.

On to the data:

• Last week, 79 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 64 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 8 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 809 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,112 new regulations this year. This would be the lowest total in decades; this will likely change as the year goes on.
• Last week, 1,134 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 18,961 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 72,927 pages, which would be the lowest total since 2009.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 10 such rules have been published so far this year, none of them in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $1.05 billion to $1.34 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 73 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 174 new rules affect small businesses; 24 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Agricultural Marketing Service is loosening some of its restrictions for exporting apples to Canada in bulk.
• Another Dodd-Frank regulation hit the books, this one concerning retaliation procedures for whistleblowers. Passed in 2010, Dodd-Frank is currently about halfway to full implementation.
• If you are a government employee who receives gifts from foreigners, the General Service Administration has revised how you should calculate the value of those gifts.
• Visa restrictions on visitors from Chile have been relaxed somewhat.
• The federal government has a National Watermelon Promotion Board. On Monday, it revised its membership requirements.
• In a bit of good news, the island night lizard was removed from the endangered species list.

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

There was no Bureau post last week since I was out of the country. Here are the up-to-date numbers; it was very much business as usual while I was away.

On to the data:

• Last week, 64 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 77 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 730 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,042 new regulations this year. This would be the lowest total in decades; this will likely change as the year goes on.
• Last week, 1,938 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 17,827 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 74,280 pages, which would be the lowest total since 2009.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 10 such rules have been published so far this year, one of them in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $1.05 billion to $1.34 billion. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 69 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 158 new rules affect small businesses; 24 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• This week’s economically significant rule is a set of new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators from the Energy Department. The rule estimates $184 million in conversion costs for manufacturers, and $250-271 million in annual “incremental equipment costs,” depending on which discount rate one uses.
• Another new energy regulation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission implements new standards for verifying the reliability of generators.
• In Florida, the Coleman-Evans Wood Preserving Superfund Site is no longer on the list of Superfund sites.
• South Koreans are now allowed to export poultry products to the United States.
• Now that it’s 2014, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is allowing electronic submission of certain forms that distilled spirit producers are required to fill out.
• Mexican potatoes are no longer forbidden in the United States.
• The federal government maintains a Death Master File. A new rule clarifies who may access it.

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

It was a week like any other for regulations, with rules affecting everything from olive taxes in California to what types of gasoline are legal in Atlanta.

On to the data:

• Last week, 67 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 84 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• So far in 2014, 589 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 2,945 new regulations this year. This would be the lowest total in decades; this will likely change as the year goes on.
• Last week, 1,415 new pages were added to the Federal Register.
• Currently at 14,593 pages, the 2014 Federal Register is on pace for 72,965 pages, which would be the lowest total since 2009.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. 8 such rules have been published so far this year, two of them in the past week.
• The total estimated compliance costs of 2014’s economically significant regulations currently ranges from $616 million to $887 million. They also affect several billion dollars of government spending.
• 59 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2014, 121 new rules affect small businesses; 18 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• One of this week’s economically significant rules implements part of the Affordable Care Act. It will affect $62 to $69 billion of government spending over the years 2015-2017, with paperwork and compliance costs estimated at $2.35 million.
• The other economically significant rule also involves health care spending, to the tune of $17.19 billion over 2015-19. The rule specifically declines to quantify compliance costs, so I am scoring it as zero-cost in our running compliance cost tally.
• The federal government’s California Olive Committee is decreasing its assessment on olive growers from $21.16 tp $15.21 per ton of “assessable olives handled.”
• The Atlanta metro area is not required to use reformulated gasoline, according to the EPA.
• If you would like to import ecclesiastical ethnological materials from Honduras, please read this new rule from the Treasury Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
• Vitamin D2 is now permitted in food.
• New safety standards for carriages and strollers.

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