The week in regulations: Cable TV and paper straws

Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, and Chuck Mangione passed away. President Trump issued an Executive Order on artificial intelligence and announced a tariff deal with Japan. The House adjourned early for it August recess. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from coal combustion to truck speed limits.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 49 final regulations last week, after 74 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every three hours and 25 minutes.
• With 1,466 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 34 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 30 the previous week.
• With 929 proposed regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 1,647 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 433 notices last week, after 409 notices the previous week.
• With 11,330 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 20,089 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 25,506 notices in 2024, 22,902 in 2023, and 28,973 in 2022.
• Last week, 1,217 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,417 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2025 contains 251 pages.
• With 35,383 pages so far, the 2025 Federal Register is on pace for 62,736 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 three 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations so far in 2025, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for six 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 $1.87 billion to $22.57 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 was one new final regulation last week meeting the broader definition of “significant,” after one the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 76 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 135 significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 339 such regulations in 2024, 290 in 2023, and 255 in 2022.
• So far in 2025, 392 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 695. Seventeen of them are significant, on pace for 30.
• 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:

• The CFPB is withdrawing a withdrawal of certain rules.
• The Agriculture Department is correcting an earlier NEPA rulemaking.
• Venezuela sanctions.
• Russia sanctions.
• More Russia sanctions.
• Yet more Russia sanctions.
• Global terrorism sanctions.
• The Ocean Energy Management Bureau is rescinding cross references.
• The Land Management Bureau is rescinding mineral prospecting regulations for National Forest System lands.
• It is also rescinding surface protection requirements for mines.
• Investigating railroad accidents.
• The Merit Systems Protection Board is inflation-adjusting its civil monetary penalties.
• The Roanoke logperch is being removed from the Endangered Species List.
• The Defense Department issued a rule removing what calls “extreme gender ideology.”
• Supplementary disaster relief for farmers.
• Cable television rates.
• The DEA is classifying clonazolam, diclazepam, etizolam, flualprazolam, and flubromazolam as Schedule I controlled substances.
  
  

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Definitions on advancing artificial intelligence in education.
• No more forced usage of paper straws in the military, in accordance with the National Strategy to End the Use of Paper Straws.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing new public protective actions during general emergencies.
• Calculating steel reactor vessel embrittlement.
• Applications for exemption from Justice Department firearms regulations.
• Mine ventilation plan approval.
• Training and retraining of miners.
• Mine roof control plan approval.
• Electronic surveying equipment un underground coal mines.
• Powered air purifying respirators in underground mines.
• Schemp-Hirth Flugzeugbau gliders.
• Deadline extension for coal combustion residual disposal.
• The EPA is set to approve an air quality plan from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics in New York State.
• NHTSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are withdrawing a rule requiring speed limiting devices on trucks.
• Regulatory publications from the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency.
• The DEA is classifying clonazolam, diclazepam, etizolam, flualprazolam, and flubromazolam as Schedule I controlled substances.

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