The week in regulations: Peach diversion programs and nuclear packages

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates the same, and an increase may be on the way. Economic growth remained below average, and inflation remained above target. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from submarine cables to halibut action.

On to the data:

Agencies issued 72 new final regulations last week.
This is equivalent to one new final regulation every two hours and 20 minutes.
Agencies have issued 1,741 final regulations so far in 2026.
At this pace, agencies will issue 2,981 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 36 new proposed regulations last week.
With 1,074 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,839 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 426 notices last week.
With 12,297 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 21,057 notices this year.
For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
There were 1,921 new Federal Register pages last week.
With 48,753 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 83,481 pages.
The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 334 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. No such regulations appeared in the previous week.
This pace will yield 31 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 four final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant.”
So far this year, 130 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 223 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, 383 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 656. Eighteen 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.