Another Record-Breaking Federal Register? Federal Regulations Surge in 2011

The Federal Register [3] is the daily depository of all proposed and final rules and regulations, as well as presidential documents, executive orders, agency internal directives and other notices.

This morning’s edition topped out at a rather incredible 81,245 pages for the year [3], with three days left for Uncle Sam to rack up still more mandates in 2011.

This is notable, because nominally, tomorrow’s Federal Register stands to surpass last year’s all-time high of 81,405. Each year I assemble such facts and figures about the regulatory state in Ten Thousand Commandments [4], and nothing is improving, at a time in our economic history when things need badly to improve.

 Last year’s Register actually contained 82,480 pages, but there were 1,075 skipped or blank pages among them, so I net those out.

Later we’ll determine the number of skips in the 2011 edition, but regardless it seems we’re record-bound.  Stand by.