Category Archives: regulation

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 80 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 76 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 6 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,750 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,718 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,622 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 59,578 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 79,227 pages, which would be good for fourth all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Five such rules were published last week, for a total of 28 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $6.39 billion to $11.62 billion.
• So far, 243 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 520 final rules affect small business; 70 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The Fish and Wildlife Service issued two more sets of economically significant migratory bird hunting regulations, each carrying the standard “estimated consumer surplus across all flyways of $317.8-$416.8 million.” As usual, since this is not a compliance cost, I am scoring both rules as zero-cost in our running compliance cost tally.
• The FDA issued an economically significant rule requiring medical devices to have a unique identifier. The estimated cost is $84.1-85.7 million.
• The remaining two economically significant regulations come from the Federal Contract Compliance Programs Office. Both rules cover affirmative action hiring practices that government contractors must abide by. The first rule, concerning contractor hiring policies for employees with disabilities, has estimated first-year costs of $349,510,926 to $659,877,833. Recurring costs in future years will range from either $162,371,816 to $395,258,387 or $242,345,778 to $480,476,442.
• The second affirmative action rule covers contractors’ hiring policies for various categories of military veterans. Its estimated first year costs range from $177,296,772 to $483,560,138. Recurring costs in future years will be an estimated $120,386,058 to $347,617,359.
• The EPA issued air quality rules for Maryland, Utah, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California again, and the outer continental shelf off the California coast.
• The fluted kidneyshell and the slabside pearlymussel are both considered endangered species. Both species of mussel also received designated critical habitats.
• The grotto sculpin, a small fish, was also classified as endangered and given designated critical habitat.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 76 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 61 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 13 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,670 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,706 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,339 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 57,956 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 79,175 pages, which would be good for fourth all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Two such rules were published last week, for a total of 28 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $5.78 billion to $10.39 billion.
• So far, 231 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 510 final rules affect small business; 67 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The first economically significant rule of the week is part of the Affordable Care Act. It enacts a $548 million “Reduction in Disproportionate Share Hospital Allotment.” Since this affects government spending and not compliance costs, I am scoring this rule as zero-cost in our running compliance cost tally. The rule does add new reporting requirements, but without estimating the paperwork and man-hour costs of complying with them.
• The other economically significant rule is another rule for migratory bird hunting, and includes the same estimated consumer surplus of $317.8 to $416.8 million as all of this year’s other migratory bird hunting regulations. Since the rule says nothing about compliance costs, I am also scoring this rule as zero-cost.
• New requirements for mango imports from Australia include “a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that the conditions for importation have been met.”
• Lawyers rejoice: prostate cancer is now on the official list of World Trade Center-related health conditions.
• The Mount Charleston blue butterfly, a Nevada native with a one-inch wingspan, is now an endangered species. The Fish and Wildlife Service will soon be designating critical habitat.
• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a 24-page rule defining “retail pet store.”
• Regulations are often behind the curve; the Agricultural Marketing Service is updating its food container regulations to “align the standards to reflect current industry practices.”
• If you grow Vidalia onions in Georgia, you are required to submit a monthly report to the Agricultural Marketing Service. A new rule establishes “the first business day after the tenth day of the month” as the report’s due date.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 61 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 58 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 45 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,594 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,698 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,849 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 56,617 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 79,518 pages, which would be good for third all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. No such rules were published last week, for a total of 26 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $5.78 billion to $10.39 billion.
• So far, 224 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 497 final rules affect small business; 66 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The FDIC issued a 7-page rule defining the term “Insured deposit.”
• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is lifting its ban on Sharwil avocados from Hawaii.
• The southern white rhino is now listed as a threatened species. This is not because of its own population levels, but because the southern white rhino looks like other endangered rhino species.
• The Texas golden gladecress, and the Neches River rose-mallow, two types of plants in Texas, are now respectively listed as endangered and threatened. They are also receiving designated critical habitat areas totaling a little more than 1,500 acres.
• The federal government sells insurance for processing sweet corn. On Tuesday, it made a few changes to the program.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, which was a four-day week due to the Labor Day holiday, 58 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 81 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 54 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,533 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,713 new final rules.
• Last week, 809 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 54,768 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 79,145 pages, which would be good for fourth all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. No such rules were published last week, for a total of 26 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $5.78 billion to $10.39 billion.
• So far, 220 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 483 final rules affect small business; 64 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection has extended the boundaries of the port in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• When you go shopping for appliances, you’ll see stickers on them showing a unit’s estimated annual energy costs. That label is required by the Federal Trade Commission, which just issued a correction to a recent revision to the label’s requirements.
• If you claim foreign tax credits, the IRS has issued new rules for how that affects your U.S. tax situation.
• Date growers in Riverside County, California (but not elsewhere) will now enjoy a lower assessment rate from the Agricultural Marketing Service.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 81 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 80 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 4 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,475 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,733 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,465 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 53,959 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 79,822 pages, which would be good for third all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Three such rules were published last week, for a total of 26 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $5.78 billion to $10.39 billion.
• So far, 218 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 469 final rules affect small business; 64 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The Fish and Wildlife Service issued two more economically significant migratory bird hunting regulations. They both estimate the same curiously precise consumer surplus as the rule it issued the previous week, a range of $317.8-$416.8 million. Neither rule quantifies compliance cost, so I’m scoring them both as zero-cost in our running compliance cost tally.
• The third economically significant rule concerns a school grant program. It does not specify the expected dollar value of grants they expect to make beyond saying that they will likely exceed the $100 million threshold for economically significant status. The rule acknowledges compliance cost for states in creating application forms. Instead of giving a dollar figure, the rule states that “the benefits of developing an application for this competition outweigh the costs.” I am therefore scoring it as zero-cost in our running compliance cost tally.
• Adjustments to wage requirements for immigrants on the H-2B visa (the one for temporary farm workers) have been postponed indefinitely.
• The FAA issued an airworthiness directive for Segelflugzeugbau sailplanes.
• Apparently the official term for the penalty for not purchasinging health insurance is “shared responsibility payment.”
• New air quality regulations for Missouri, California (twice), Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, and Ohio.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 80 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 71 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 6 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,394 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,718 new final rules.
• Last week, 2,364 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 52,494 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 80,022 pages, which would be good for third all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. One such rule was published last week, for a total of 23 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $5.78 billion to $10.39 billion.
• So far, 210 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 449 final rules affect small business; 58 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• This week’s economically significant rule comes from the Fish and Wildlife Service. It estimates that this year’s batch of migratory bird hunting regulations will produce a consumer surplus in the curiously precise range of $317.8 to $416.8 million. As usual, there is no analysis of compliance costs, so I am scoring this rule as zero-cost in the running compliance cost tally.
• The FDA issued a correction of an earlier regulation involving adhesives and coating components of indirect food additives.
• The FCC is changing its fee structures so it can meet its target of fining businesses and consumers $339,844,000.
• If you grow Valencia oranges or avocados in Florida, the Agricultural Marketing is liberalizing its size and grading requirements.
• Want to make a movie on government-owned land? Read this first.
• New safety standards for play yards.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 71 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 83 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 22 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• All in all, 2,314 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,704 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,414 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 50,130 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 78,821 pages, which would be good for fifth all time. The current record is 81,405 pages, set in 2010.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. No such rules were published last week, for a total of 22 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $5.78 billion to $10.39 billion.
• So far, 203 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 432 final rules affect small business; 55 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The town of Conneaut, Ohio sits on Lake Erie, right by the Pennsylvania-Ohio border. Because its beach very much resembles Normandy’s in France, history enthusiasts have annually reenacted the D-Day invasion since 1999. For this year’s August 16-17 reenactment, the Coast Guard issued a detailed regulation establishing a safety zone surrounding the area of amphibious invasion and vintage airplane flyovers.
• In June, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jointly published regulations for heavy-duty engines and off-road vehicles. Due to adverse comments received, the agencies are rescinding parts of the rule.
• The EPA published its annual standards for how much bio-fuels cars will be required to use in 2013.
• The FCC is adjusting its forfeitures and fines for inflation.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.