Category Archives: regulation

Regulatory reform is as urgent an issue as ever. In today’s Washington Times, Wayne Crews and I write about a reform that has nearly two decades of bipartisan support, as well as a proven track record when applied to spending cuts: a Regulatory Reduction Commission. Here’s how it would work:

Both spending and regulations are almost impossible to cut using conventional political means. Yet one approach was tried in the 1990s that had some success: the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC).

When the Cold War ended, America no longer needed such a large military. Because no member of Congress would vote to close an unneeded military base in his own district or state, the independent BRAC commission’s job was to give Congress an omnibus package of bases to vote on closing, without amendment. This approach was able to overcome the usual vote-trading and back-scratching, and the package passed. The Pentagon (and taxpayers) saved piles of money.

Since then, Mr. Mandel, Mr. Gramm and analysts across the political spectrum all have had the same thought: Using BRAC as a model with a proven track record for cutting unnecessary spending, can a similar mechanism be extended to repealing unneeded regulations?

It can. All it takes is a bit of courage from Congress and President Obama. Hopefully that isn’t asking too much.

Read the whole thing here.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 69 new final rules were published, down from 94 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 26 minutes — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• All in all, 3,555 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2012 will be 3,728 new rules.
• Last week, 1,287 new pages were added to the 2012 Federal Register, for a total of 74,185 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2012 Federal Register will run 76,956 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. The 46 such rules published so far in 2012 have compliance costs of at least $24 billion. Two of the rules do not have cost estimates, and two other rules have cost estimates that do not give a total annual cost. We assume that rules lacking this basic transparency measure cost the bare minimum of $100 million per year. The true cost is almost certainly higher.
• No economically significant rules were published last week.
• So far, 333 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2012.
• So far this year, 675 final rules affect small business; 94 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The FAA added further requirements to its recent flight crew rest regulations.
• The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule to revise the Spanish translation of its Used Car Buyers Guide. Here are links to the current version in English and in Español.
• The EPA published 19 final rules this week. They are listed here.
• Interested in opening a low power FM station? Under FCC regulations, you may apply for up to 70 different stations – but no more than three may be in the same market.
• The Lost River sucker, a type of fish from Oregon and California, is the unknowing recipient of critical habitat to the tune of 146 miles of stream and 117,848 acres of land. Its relative, the shortnose sucker, is getting 136 miles of stream and 123,590 acres of land.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

The federal government has issued a proposed regulation to tackle the thorny problem of how to weigh a bus.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 94 new final rules were published, up from 88 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 1 hour and 47 minutes — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• All in all, 3,486 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2012 will be 3,731 new rules.
• Last week, 1,778 new pages were added to the 2012 Federal Register, for a total of 72,898 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2012 Federal Register will run 77,191 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. The 46 such rules published so far in 2012 have compliance costs of at least $24 billion. Two of the rules do not have cost estimates, and two other rules have cost estimates that do not give a total annual cost. We assume that rules lacking this basic transparency measure cost the bare minimum of $100 million per year. The true cost is almost certainly higher.
• One economically significant rule was published last week.
• So far, 331 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2012.
• So far this year, 663 final rules affect small business; 93 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• This week’s economically significant rule comes from the Defense Department. It will spend about $800 million to pay 2011 tuition for voluntary education programs for Service members. Since this is government spending and not compliance cost, I am scoring this rule as zero-cost for our running tally.
• If you produce qualified movies or tv shows, the IRS has updated its allowable deductions.
• There are also new excise tax rules for craft brewers.
• The Postal Service is increasing its international mail prices.
• If you grow apricots or sweet cherries in certain parts of Washington state, the Agricultural Marketing Service has lowered its assessment rates on your crops.
• Ditto if you grow pears in certain parts of Oregon and Washington, or avocados in southern Florida.
• Civilian flights are now allowed at two airports in Iraq, according to the FAA.
• NHTSA issued a final rule titled, simply, “Final Rule.” We do not expect this to literally be NHTSA’s final rule.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

Fridays are when I comb through the Federal Register and assemble the weekly Battered Business Bureau posts. My expression often resembles this cat. Thanks to my colleague Jeremy Kolassa for making the image.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 88 new final rules were published, up from 32 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 1 hour and 54 minutes — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• All in all, 3,392 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2012 will be 3,706 new rules.
• Last week, 1,849 new pages were added to the 2012 Federal Register, for a total of 71,120 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2012 Federal Register will run 76,970 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. The 45 such rules published so far in 2012 have compliance costs of at least $24 billion. Two of the rules do not have cost estimates, and two other rules have cost estimates that do not give a total annual cost. We assume that rules lacking this basic transparency measure cost the bare minimum of $100 million per year. The true cost is almost certainly higher.
• No economically significant rules were published last week.
• So far, 321 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2012.
• So far this year, 632 final rules affect small business; 90 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The FCC passed two new rules to regulate how your phone bill is formatted.
• The FDA has helpfully announced that the compliance date for all food labeling regulations it issues in 2013-14 will be January 1, 2016. Should do a little bit to ease regulatory uncertainty.
• In August 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued new side impact safety standards. A new rule issued on Wednesday corrects a mistake in the original rule.
• The EPA had a busy week, passing 15 new regulations.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.

This week in the world of regulation:

• Last week, 32 new final rules were published, down from 48 the previous Thanksgiving-shortened week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 5 hours and 15 minutes — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• All in all, 3,336 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2012 will be 3,722 new rules.
• Last week, 722 new pages were added to the 2012 Federal Register, for a total of 69,993 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2012 Federal Register will run 77,426 pages.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. The 45 such rules published so far in 2012 have compliance costs of at least $24 billion. Two of the rules do not have cost estimates, and two other rules have cost estimates that do not give a total annual cost. We assume that rules lacking this basic transparency measure cost the bare minimum of $100 million per year. The true cost is almost certainly higher.
• Two economically significant rules were published last week.
• So far, 319 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2012.
• So far this year, 623 final rules affect small business; 90 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from final rules published last week:

• The Energy Department recently outlined test procedures for dishwashers and dehumidifiers to see if they meet new energy efficiency standards. Apparently they didn’t get them quite right, because they issued a correction on Friday.
• The Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have teamed up to issue an update to Regulation M, which has to do with consumer leasing, and two updates to Regulation Z, which covers truth in lending.
• The FAA issued four airworthiness directives for Boeing and Cessna airplanes. You can read them here, here, here, and here.
• If you are interested in transporting solid waste by rail, you should be aware of this new regulation covering transfer facilities.

For more data, go to TenThousandCommandments.com.