The week in regulations: Razorback suckers and conflict of interest requirements

Congress is considering honoring the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) by passing a counterproductive Russia sanctions and tariffs bill. Inflation numbers for June looked good, though the relief is likely temporary. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from gyroplanes to grizzly bears.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 48 new final regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new final regulation every three hours and 30 minutes.
• Agencies have issued 1,603 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,947 final regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,441 final regulations in 2025, 3,248 in 2024, and 3,018 in 2023.
• Agencies issued 29 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 992 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,824 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 1,498 proposed regulations in 2025, 1,769 in 2024, and 2,102 in 2023.
• Agencies issued 427 notices last week.
• With 11,474 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 21,092 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 2,340 new Federal Register pages last week.
• With 45,167 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 83,028 pages.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 332 pages.
• For comparison, the 2025 Federal Register had 61,461 pages, and 2024 had an all-time record 107,261 pages. The 2023 edition had 90,402 pages.
• Rules with annual economic effects of $100 million or more in at least one year qualify as economically significant.
• During the Biden administration, this category was temporarily scrapped and replaced with a $200 million annual threshold for being called significant under Section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866 as amended.
• A 2025 Trump executive order scrapped the $200 million 3(f)(1) threshold and revived the $100 million economically significant category. Because of the length of time the rulemaking process takes, rules under both thresholds are still appearing.
• So far in 2026, there are 18 new regulations that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant. Two such regulations appeared in the previous week.
• This pace will yield 33 new regulations in 2026 that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant.
• For comparison, there were 17 new regulations in 2025 that were either 3(f)(1) or economically significant, 20 in 2024, and 28 in 2023. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.
• Regulations that are new in 2026 and are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant are estimated to produce net annual savings between $905 billion and net costs of $134 billion.
• For context, 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025 had estimated net annual costs of $219 million to $1.64 billion. The figures for 2024 are net annual savings of $16.42 billion to $26.45 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were six final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant.”
• So far this year, 122 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 224 significant final regulations in 2026.
• For comparison, there were 155 such regulations in 2025, 339 in 2024, and 290 in 2023.
• So far in 2026, 359 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 660. Seventeen of them are significant, making a yearly pace of 31.
• For comparison, in 2025 there were 597 regulations affecting small businesses, 30 of them significant. In 2024 there were 770 regulations affecting small businesses, 76 of them significant. In 2023 there were 789 regulations affecting small businesses, 106 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Rescinding the Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm.”
• Favorable export treatment for the United Arab Emirates.
• The Children and Families Administration is rescinding placement requirements for LGBTQI+ children.
• Energy Department rules for false claims and procedures.
• Diamond aircraft.
• Margin requirements for swaps dealers.
• Voluntary agreements from the Energy Department under the Defense Production Act.
• Homeland Security procedures for students.
• Harpoon quotas for tuna.
• Conflict of interest requirements for Energy Department financial assistance.
• Critical habitat for the Canada lynx.
• Gyroplanes.
• Razorback suckers are being upgraded from endangered to threatened.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Certifying railroad signal employees.
• Certifying railroad dispatchers.
• Coal combustion residuals permits in Alabama.
• Nonconformance penalties for SCR-equipped diesel engines.
• Ninety-day findings for 10 species under the Endangered Species Act.
• Subsidized home loans.
• Peoria airspace.
• Grizzly bear protective regulations.
• Siting practices for nuclear reactors.
• Modernizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s radiation protection framework.

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