Inertia Wins!

Retail sales declined 16.4 percent in April, setting a new record low for the second month in a row. Congress returned to Washington, putting the economy in further danger. Meanwhile, regulatory agencies issued new final regulations ranging from foreign journalists to dog licenses.

On to the data:

• Last week, 47 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 69 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every three hours and 34 minutes.
• Federal agencies have issued 1,155 final regulations in 2020. At that pace, there will be 3,039 new final regulations. Last year’s total was 2,964 regulations.
• There were also 53 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, for a total of 841 on the year. At that pace, there will be 2,213 new proposed regulations in 2020. Last year’s total was 2,184 proposed regulations.
• Last week, agencies published 450 notices, for a total of 8,278 in 2020. At that pace, there will be 21,784 new notices this year. Last year’s total was 21,804.
• Last week, 2,036 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,323 pages the previous week.
• The 2020 Federal Register totals 29,589 pages. It is on pace for 77,866 pages. The 2019 total was 76,288 pages. The all-time record adjusted page count (which subtracts skips, jumps, and blank pages) is 96,994, set in 2016.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Three such rules have been published this year. Four such rules were published in 2019.
• The running cost tally for 2020’s economically significant regulations ranges from net savings of between $1.38 billion and $4.19 billion. 2019’s total ranges from net savings of $350 million to $650 million, mostly from estimated savings on federal spending. The exact number depends on discount rates and other assumptions.
• Agencies have published 26 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” so far this year. 2019’s total was 66 significant final rules.
• So far in 2020, 232 new rules affect small businesses; 10 of them are classified as significant. 2019’s totals were 501 rules affecting small businesses, with 22 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Here’s the rule for kicking foreign journalists out the country.
• A tax cut for olive growers in California.
• Licensing provisions and requirements for dogs.
• COVID-related changes to H-2B visas for non-immigrants.
• COVID-related changes the Defense Department’s TRICARE system payments.
• Payment parameters for 2021 under the Affordable Care Act.
• How to certify if a small business is owned by an economically disadvantaged woman.
• Implementation of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018.
• Data collection and reporting requirements for adopted and foster children.
• Margin requirements for certain swaps transactions.
• The Southern Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the fisher, a small, carnivorous mammal related to weasels and martens, is now an endangered species.
• A correction to recent reorganization of Postal Service regulations.

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

The first full week of May featured a continuing pandemic with a death toll that now exceeds the Vietnam War, the biggest unemployment increase in U.S. history, a hailstorm in the D.C. area, freezing temperatures in parts of Midwest, and murder hornets. Meanwhile, regulatory agencies issued new final regulations ranging from walnut reserves to organic regulations.

On to the data:

• Last week, 69 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 48 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 26 minutes.
• Federal agencies have issued 1,105 final regulations in 2020. At that pace, there will be 3,070 new final regulations. Last year’s total was 2,964 regulations.
• There were also 57 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, for a total of 733 on the year. At that pace, there will be 2,156 new proposed regulations in 2020. Last year’s total was 2,184 proposed regulations.
• Last week, agencies published 428 notices, for a total of 7,842 in 2020. At that pace, there will be 21,784 new notices this year. Last year’s total was 21,804.
• Last week, 1,323 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 3,112 pages the previous week.
• The 2020 Federal Register totals 27,643 pages. It is on pace for 76,787 pages. The 2019 total was 76,288 pages. The all-time record adjusted page count (which subtracts skips, jumps, and blank pages) is 96,994, set in 2016.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Three such rules have been published this year. Four such rules were published in 2019.
• The running cost tally for 2020’s economically significant regulations ranges from net savings of between $1.38 billion and $4.19 billion. 2019’s total ranges from net savings of $350 million to $650 million, mostly from estimated savings on federal spending. The exact number depends on discount rates and other assumptions.
• Agencies have published 24 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” so far this year. 2019’s total was 66 significant final rules.
• So far in 2020, 220 new rules affect small businesses; nine of them are classified as significant. 2019’s totals were 501 rules affecting small businesses, with 22 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• The Small Business Administration is removing 16 regulations that are “either obsolete or redundant.”
• The Securities and Exchange Commission is loosening some crowdfunding regulations for small businesses affected by coronavirus.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is loosening some of its mortgage regulations due to the coronavirus.
• The IRS and the Employee Benefits Security Administration are extending some of their deadlines due to the coronavirus.
• COVID-related Medicare revisions.
• Two rules from the Small Business Administration for disbursing funds under the recent spending bills.
• Revised copyright registration rules, which the coronavirus has disrupted.
• A new Defense Department regulation for double coverage. Despite the football terminology, this regulation is about health care coverage.
• Detached Mail Units.
• Revised rules for the federal government’s migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp contest.
• The Federal Aviation Administration is loosening some of its staffing requirements due to the coronavirus.
• Non-discrimination in the Paycheck Protection Act.
• Income reviews for people who live in apartments near transit.
• The State Department is temporarily reducing registration fees for trafficking arms abroad.
• Collecting information about cable TV.
• Video call relay service.
• Updates and renewals to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s organic regulations.
• The National Archives and Records Administration is modernizing some of its rules for accessing its data.
• New liquidity rules, as part of the Paycheck Protection Act.
• The island marble butterfly is being classified as an endangered species and given 812 acres of protected habitat in Washington State.
• Walnut reserves.

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

New unemployment applications were down to 4.4 million last week. This is still more than an order of magnitude greater than the pre-coronavirus record. With roughly 26 million people now claiming benefits, the unemployment rate is likely now at Great Depression-era levels. Meanwhile, regulatory agencies issued new final regulations ranging light-duty vehicles to golden parakeets.

On to the data:

• Last week, 55 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 49 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every three hours and three minutes.
• Federal agencies have issued 988 final regulations in 2020. At that pace, there will be 3,088 new final regulations. Last year’s total was 3,150 regulations.
• There were also 39 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, for a total of 684 on the year. At that pace, there will be 2,138 new proposed regulations in 2020. Last year’s total was 2,184 proposed regulations.
• Last week, agencies published 462 notices, for a total of 6,989 in 2020. At that pace, there will be 21,841 new notices this year. Last year’s total was 21,804.
• Last week, 1,464 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,352 pages the previous week.
• The 2020 Federal Register totals 23,204 pages. It is on pace for 72,513 pages. The 2019 total was 76,288 pages. The all-time record adjusted page count (which subtracts skips, jumps, and blank pages) is 96,994, set in 2016.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. Two such rules have been published this year. Four such rules were published in 2019.
• The running cost tally for 2020’s economically significant regulations ranges from net savings of between $180 million and $4.69 billion. 2019’s total ranges from net savings of $350 million to $650 million, mostly from estimated savings on federal spending. The exact number depends on discount rates and other assumptions.
• Agencies have published 20 final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” so far this year. 2019’s total was 66 significant final rules.
• So far in 2020, 195 new rules affect small businesses; eight of them are classified as significant. 2019’s totals were 501 rules affecting small businesses, with 22 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• The Drug Enforcement Administration has a new rule for allowing electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. We’re going to go ahead and guess that drug dealers across the country have already been offering this service for years.
• Greenhouse gases and light-duty vehicles.
• Truth-in-billing requirements for television services.
• Two rules containing COVID-related temporary changes in leverage ratios for community banks.
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expanding use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band of wireless spectrum.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency has new rules for prioritizing and allocating medical equipment.
• The golden conure, also known as the golden parakeet, is being upgraded from an endangered to a threatened species.
• The FCC has new rules for carrying low-power television stations.
• Travel restrictions for Canada and Mexico.
• A 90-day deferral of certain tariff payments for companies in severe financial hardship. I wrote more about this here.
• The Department of Health and Human Services will be allowing telemedicine during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Temporary regulatory relief for credit unions.
• The definition of “Waters of the United States.”
• New regulations for immigrant farm laborers on the H-2A visa.

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