Inertia Wins!

It was a light week on the regulatory front, but the Federal Register still added more than 1,200 pages. It will almost certainly pass the 70,000-page mark next week.

On to the data:

• Last week, 60 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 66 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 48 minutes.
• All in all, 3,246 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,591 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,207 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 69,520 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 76,903 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, keeping the total at 35 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $6.42 billion to $11.82 billion.
• So far, 294 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 632 final rules affect small business; 87 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The Agricultural Marketing Service is lowering the assessment rate it charges Irish potato growers in certain parts of Colorado.
• The FDA issued a new rule to prevent ciguatera fish poisoning.
• In Rock Island, Illinois, there is a drawbridge that crosses the Mississippi River. The federal government regulates when it goes up and down.
• Due to comments received from the public, the EPA is delaying for four weeks the designation of critical habitat for Umtanum desert buckwheat and White Bluffs bladderpod.
• The Jemez Mountains salamander, however, is getting 90,716 acres of critical habitat in New Mexico.
• If you are planning on importing beans from Jordan, read this regulation first.

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

It was a short work week because of the Veterans Day holiday, but agencies still added nearly 1,700 pages to the 2013 Federal Register, which is on track to be the fifth-largest ever despite a two-week shutdown.

On to the data:

• Last week, 66 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 78 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 33 minutes.
• All in all, 3,186 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,604 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,689 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 68,313 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 77,278 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, keeping the total at 35 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $6.42 billion to $11.82 billion.
• So far, 289 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 629 final rules affect small business; 86 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• The FAA had a busy week, issuing 26 final rules. See them all here.
• If two businesses want to merge, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act often requires them to get permission first from the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC issued a rule changing some of the Hart-Scott-Rodino procedures for pharmaceutical companies.
• The FDA formally approved spirulina extract for use as a safe food coloring additive. Spirulina extract is dried cyanobacteria. Bon apetit!
• If you’ve been longing to import ovine meat from Uruguay, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is giving you the go ahead to satisfy your craving. This rule could cause lamb to become slightly cheaper, depending on demand.

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

This week was about as normal as it ever gets on the regulatory front, with the number of new regulations and Federal Register pages well within their normal range.

On to the data:

• Last week, 78 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. There were 92 new final rules the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 2 hours and 9 minutes.
• All in all, 3,120 final rules have been published in the Federal Register this year.
• If this keeps up, the total tally for 2013 will be 3,594 new final rules.
• Last week, 1,419 new pages were added to the 2013 Federal Register, for a total of 66,624 pages.
• At its current pace, the 2013 Federal Register will run 76,756 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, keeping the total at 35 so far in 2013.
• The total estimated compliance costs of this year’s economically significant regulations ranges from $6.42 billion to $11.82 billion.
• So far, 280 final rules that meet the broader definition of “significant” have been published in 2013.
• So far this year, 613 final rules affect small business; 83 of them are significant rules.

Highlights from selected final rules published last week:

• Federal employees who are D.C. residents are having some restrictions on their allowed political activities loosened, such as the ability to run for office as a political partisan.
• The federal government regulates the caps that appear on the end of toy guns.
• The federal government’s revised intrastate and interstate turtle requirements, which have previously appeared in this space, have been given an effective date of December 9, 2013.
• OSHA is issuing new standards for signs.
• New tire grading standards from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• In a bit of good news, the Steller seal lion has been delisted from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

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