The week in regulations: Airplane seats and Irish potatoes

President Trump signed an executive order to effectively end the H-1B visa category for high-skilled immigrants. He also raised tariffs on pharmaceuticals, argued without evidence that aspirin causes autism, and spoke at the United Nations. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from passport couriers to walnut handling.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 62 final regulations last week, after 49 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 26 minutes.
• With 1,871 final regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 2,599 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 21 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 29 the previous week.
• With 1,164 proposed regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 1,617 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 431 notices last week, after 511 notices the previous week.
• With 14,629 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 20,318 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 25,506 notices in 2024, 22,902 in 2023, and 28,973 in 2022.
• Last week, 1,019 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,155 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2025 contains 252 pages.
• With 45,312 pages so far, the 2025 Federal Register is on pace for 62,933 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 five 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations so far in 2025, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for seven 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 20 3(f)(1) 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 have estimated costs ranging from $1.81 billion to $22.51 billion.
• 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 from $45.28 billion to $78.05 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were four new final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant,” after five the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 91 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 126 significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 339 such regulations in 2024, 290 in 2023, and 255 in 2022.
• So far in 2025, 415 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 665. Seventeen of them are significant, on pace for 27. Due to transparency problems at FederalRegister.gov, this statistic can no longer be tracked. It was current as of August 15, 2024.
• 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.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Airplane seats with non-traditional, larger, non-metallic panels.
• The Energy Department is rescinding nondiscrimination rules.
• Tax increase on American-grown Irish potatoes.
• EPA rules of acquisition.
• Refund procedures for excise taxes on imported alcohol.
• Deregulated walnut handling.
• Accounting requirements for subsidized rural utilities.
• Mail tracking requirements for imported food.
• Emergency response plans for nuclear reactors.
• Vehicle inspections in Delaware.
• Syria sanctions.
• Rescinded regulations for mining claim notices.
• The FDA is revoking food standards for 11 products that are no longer on the market.
• Changes to how the Bureau pf Economic Analysis calculates new foreign direct investment.
• The Emergency Livestock Relief Program.
  

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Chemical risk evaluation procedures.
• Virtualization reliability standards.
• The EPA is reconsidering its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
• The IRS listed tip-receiving occupations.
• The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network delayed some new reporting requirements.
• New restrictions on H-1B visas for skilled workers.
• The Education Department’s definitions of “meaningful learning opportunity.”
• The Education Department’s definitions of “career pathways” and “workforce readiness.”
• Vehicle inspections in Oregon.
• Staple food stocking for retailers participating in SNAP.
• Procedures for passport couriers.
• Spearmint oil allotment percentages.
• Endangered Species Act treatment for 11 species with similar appearances.

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