The week in regulations: Date taxes and microreactors

It was nearly a 3,000-page week in the Federal Register, roughly double the usual pace. Year-over-year inflation jumped to 3.8 percent, the worst reading since the COVID inflation climbdown in 2023. Kevin Warsh took over as Federal Reserve Chair. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from railroad signalers to Turkish artifacts.

On to the data:

• Agencies issued 59 new regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new regulation every two hours and 51 minutes.
• Agencies have issued 1,001 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,662 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 24 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 694 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,846 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 501 notices last week.
• With 7,864 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 20,915 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 2,926 new Federal Register pages last week.
• With 28,406 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 75,548 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.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 302 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 12 new regulations that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant. No such regulations appeared in the previous week.
• This pace will yield 32 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 $906 million and $132 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 two final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant.”
• So far this year, 81 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 215 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, 226 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 601. Twelve of them are significant, making a yearly pace of 32.
• 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:

• The CFTC’s official seal.
• DHS approval requirements for immigrant benefit requests.
• Highway contracts.
• The Bureau of Land Management is rescinding its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule from 2024.
• Flexibility in child care and development.
• Device classification for detecting suspected orthopedic infections.
• Turkish archaeological artifacts.
• Satellite broadband spectrum sharing.
• Tax cut on dates from Riverside, California.
• Certifying telecommunications certifiers.
• Mail prices.
• Training for railroad safety employees.
• Toddler bed safety standards.
• Revisions to the Western Sugar stipulation as part of Montana’s air plan approval.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• California kiwi growers will hold a referendum on abolishing the federal government’s kiwi marketing order.
• Interest rate swaps.
• Revised grazing regulations, except for Alaska.
• The EPA’s preconstruction permitting program.
• In July there will be a referendum on ending the National highbush blueberry research and promotion program.
• Tax treatment of fertility benefits.
• Microreactor licensing requirements.
• Modified organisms subject to the Plant Protection Act.
• Accessible emergency information and apparatus requirements for videos.
• Certification for railroad signal employees.
• Certification for railroad dispatchers.

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