The week in regulations: Library pictures and aerobatic airplanes

The Iran war entered its fourth week. ICE agents might be reassigned to airport security. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. President Trump expressed joy at the death of Robert Mueller, a political opponent. The national debt surpassed $39 trillion and is on track to surpass $40 trillion before the end of the year. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from almond loans to poultry payments.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 47 new regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new regulation every three hours and 34 minutes.
• Agencies have issued 553 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,560 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 31 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 367 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,699 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 1,498 proposed regulations in 2025, 1,769 in 2024, and 2,102 proposed regulations in 2023.
• Agencies issued 465 notices last week.
• With 4,524 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 20,944 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 1,366 Federal Register pages last week.
• With 13,702 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace for 63,435 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 254 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 2026, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for 23 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2026.
• For comparison, there were 17 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025, 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.
• The estimated combined cost of 2026’s 3(f)(1) or economically significant rules ranges from net savings of $909 billion to net savings of $101 billion.
• For context, the cost tally for 2025’s 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations ranged from net costs of $219 million to $1.64 billion. 2024’s estimate is net 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, 54 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 250 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, 131 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 606. Ten of them are significant, on pace for 46 for the year.
• 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, 79 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• A Buy American requirement for foreign patent holders, who must use US-based patent attorneys in matters before the Patent and Trademark Office.
• Recreational black sea bass fishing.
• Grandfather requirements for restrictions on private transfer fee covenants.
• SBA rules for fraud.
• Regulations for taking pictures outdoors on federal land.
• The EPA’s fifth Contaminant Candidate List.
• Federal regulations for taking pictures of libraries.
• Loan guarantees for rural housing.
• Emission standards for polyether polyols production.
• Streamlined rules for Economic Development Administration subsidies.
• Removing redundant language for Economic Development Administration subsidies.
• Streamlined general terms and conditions for Economic Development Administration subsidies.
• Extra aerobatic airplanes.
• Tariff of Tolls.
• Bromazolam is temporarily a Schedule I controlled substance.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• The government’s almond marketing agency wants authority to borrow funds from a commercial lending institution.
• Copyright office fees.
• Increased monetary thresholds for federal procurements.
• Air curtain incinerators that only burn wood wastes, yard wastes, and clean lumber, and that are used in disaster recovery.
• Emission standards for marine tank vessel loading operations.
• The Postal Service is discontinuing Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail Open and Distribute.
• Delayed effective date for poultry grower payment systems.
• Blood irradiators.
• Marine mammal casualties from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries research.
• FCC rules for Internet-based telecommunications relay service modernization.
• CFTC rules for prediction markets.
• The FDA is withdrawing a rule for sunlamps.

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