Inertia Wins!

A new International Trade Commission regulation gives a useful reminder of the holy trinity of price regulation: if a company charges a higher price than its competitors, it is guilty of having excessive market power over its competitors. If it charges the same price as its competitors, it is guilty of collusion. And if it charges lower prices than its competitors, it is guilty of unfairly undercutting its competitors.

Other new regulations from last week range from cotton imports to blueberries.

On to the data:

• Last week, 80 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 73 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 6 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 2,258 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,282 new regulations this year, which would be more than 200 fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,313 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,261 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 53,689 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 78,037 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, 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.
• 188 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 379 new rules affect small businesses; 55 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Energy Department gives substantial amounts of money to private businesses. A new regulation specifies some of its requirements for doing so.
• New restrictions for medical marijuana users who use SNAP funds to purchase their medication.
• The federal government has a Cotton Research and Promotion Program. A new regulation adjusts its assessments for cotton importers.
• New membership requirements for the federal government’s U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council.
• Now that it’s 2015, U.S. Customs is allowing certain vehicle importers to submit their paperwork electronically.
• The International Trade Commission is investigating whether importers are charging their customers low prices. If the ITC thinks their prices are consumer-friendly, those importers may be punished; recall a similar state-level controversy in Wisconsin in which a grocery store is facing legal action for charging lower prices than its competitors.
• Until now, Lithuanian meat exporters were forbidden to sell to customers in the United States. Now they can—subject to certain conditions.

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

As the 2015 Federal Register topped 50,000 pages, federal agencies issued new regulations for everything from bicycles to tuna.

On to the data:

• Last week, 73 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 76 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 18 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 2,178 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,260 new regulations this year, which would be more than 200 fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,261 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,993 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 50,334 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 75,351 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, 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.
• 181 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 367 new rules affect small businesses; 53 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• New energy conservation tests for external power supplies. Does this mean more electronic devices will use internal power supplies going forward?
• 16 new regulations from the FAA. See them all here.
• 11 new regulations from the EPA. See them all here.
• In Wilmington, North Carolina, there is a drawbridge crossing the Northeast Cape Fear River. Federal regulations determine when it goes up and down.
• Some changes to the default retirement investment fund for federal employees.
• Quotas for tuna fishing.
• New federal rules for riding bicycles in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

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

Nearly 2,000 Federal Register pages contain regulations for everything from pay ratios to apricots.

On to the data:

• Last week, 76 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 83 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 13 minutes.
• So far in 2015, 2,105 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,248 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,993 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,285 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 49,073 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 74,969 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, 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.
• 177 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 352 new rules affect small businesses; 53 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• Esophageal thermal regulation devices are now class Type II medical devices.
• OSHA is streamlining its procedures for approving state governments’ occupational safety and health plans.
• The SEC’s controversial Dodd-Frank regulation requiring public companies to disclose the pay ratios between their highest-paid and median-paid employeeswas published. It is 85 pages long.
• Designated critical habitat for the Florida Brickell-bush (2,624 acres) andCarter’s small-flowered flax (2,649 acres).
• New regulations for apricots grown in Washington State; Irish potatoes grown in southeastern states; and onions grown in Idaho and Oregon.
• Regulations for water heaters.
• Reporting requirements for when your boat either comes or goes.
• Revised critical habitat for Hawaiian monk seals.
• Yet another spearmint oil regulation.

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

The number of this year’s new regulations zoomed past the 2,000 mark, though the pace is still slower than usual. This week’s new rules cover everything from mailboxes to macadamia tree insurance.

On to the data:

• Last week, 83 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 71 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and two minutes.
• So far in 2015, 2,029 final regulations have been published in the Federal Register. At that pace, there will be a total of 3,231 new regulations this year, which would be several hundred fewer rules than the usual total of 3,500-plus.
• Last week, 1,285 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,586 pages the previous week.
• Currently at 47,080 pages, the 2015 Federal Register is on pace for 74,969 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, 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.
• 169 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” have been published so far this year.
• So far in 2015, 337 new rules affect small businesses; 51 of them are classified as significant.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• A clarification of federal price controls for debit card interchange fees.
• Design standards for mailboxes.
• The Coast Guard issued 17 new regulations, mostly establishing safety zones around local events and determining when drawbridges may go up and down.
• Another Dodd-Frank regulation, this one involving swaps. It is 117 pages long.
• A correction to an earlier regulation for importing Unshu oranges from Japan.
• The federal government sells macadamia tree crop insurance.
• Energy usage standards for water heaters.
• 5,755 acres of critical habitat for the Vandenberg monkeyflower.

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

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.