This week in ridiculous regulations: pillar coral and mailing cremains

President Trump blamed Ukraine for its invasion by Russia and called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator. He also issued an executive order with potential to trim federal regulations. The 2025 Federal Register topped 10,000 pages. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from radio broadcasts to pesticide labels.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 27 final regulations last week, after 47 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every six hours and 13 minutes.
• With 380 final regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 2,794 final regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 3,248 final regulations in 2024, 3,018 in 2023, and 3,168 in 2022.
• Agencies issued 15 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 10 the previous week.
• With 187 proposed regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 1,375 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 1,769 proposed regulations in 2024, 2,102 proposed regulations in 2023, and 2,044 in 2022.
• Agencies published 208 notices last week, after 206 notices the previous week.
• With 2,465 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 18,125 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 25,506 notices in 2024, 22,902 in 2023, and 28,932 in 2022.
• Last week, 774 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 490 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2025 contains 322 pages.
• With 10,444 pages so far, the 2025 Federal Register is on pace for 76,794 pages.
• For comparison, the 2024 Federal Register has an all-time record 107,261 pages. The 2023 edition has 90,402 pages, and the 2022 Federal Register has 80,756 pages.
• Rules with $200 million or more of economic effects in at least one year qualify as major under Section 3(f)(1). This replaced the former economically significant tag for $100 million-plus regulations.
• However, the $100 million economically significant tag is now revived under a Trump Executive Order, and the $200 million 3(f)(1) tag is going away. We will likely see rules from both categories this year.
• There are two 3(f)1 or economically significant regulations so far in 2025, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for 15 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 20 3(f) significant regulations in 2024, 28 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations in 2023, and 43 economically significant rules in 2022. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.
• This year’s section 3(f)(1) and economically significant regulations cost an estimated $870 million.
• For context, the cost tally for 2024’s 3(f)(1) significant regulations is net savings of $16.42 billion to 26.45 billion. 2023’s 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations estimated costs range from $62.60 billion to 90.48 billion. Cost estimates for 2022’s economically significant rules range $45.28 billion to $78.05 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were three new final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after three the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 42 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 309 significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 339 such regulations in 2024, 290 in 2023, and 255 in 2022.
• So far in 2025, 108 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 794. Seven of them are significant, on pace for 51.
• For comparison, in 2024 there were 770 regulations affecting small businesses, 76 of them significant. In 2023 there were 789 regulations affecting small businesses, 79 of them significant. In 2022 there were 912 regulations affecting small businesses, 70 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Video program guides and menus.
• The National Park Service is delaying visitor experience improvements.
• Energy conservation standards for consumer gas-fired instantaneous water heaters.
• Energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers.
• Transportation Department rules for wheelchair accessibility.
• Baggage liability limits.
• Dry cleaner emissions.
• The DEA and HHS are teaming up to make it more difficult for patients to get pain medicine.
• Mailing cremains.
• Pillar coral is being reclassified from threatened to endangered.
• Technical amendments to SEC paperwork.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Comment periods are reopening for two proposed EPA regulations.
• Truth or Consequences television broadcasting.
• Extended comment period of a pesticide labeling regulation.
• Public meetings regarding pilot school modernization.
• Reopened comment period for an EPA rule on chlorpyrifos tolerance revocation.
• Nuclear fee recovery.
• The Federal motor Carrier Safety Administration has a new rule on property broker transaction transparency.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter. See also CEI’s Agenda for Congress.