The week in regulations: Plywood emissions and squid specifications

President Trump’s war with Iran heated back up. ICE agents killed at least one more person. Senate candidate Graham Platner ended his campaign after being accused of rape. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from flood hazard exposure to submarine cables.

On to the data:

• Agencies issued 55 new final regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new final regulation every three hours and three minutes.
• Agencies have issued 1,555 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,968 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 39 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 963 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,838 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 392 notices last week.
• With 11,047 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 21,082 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 1,982 new Federal Register pages last week.
• With 42,843 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 81,761 pages.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 327 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 16 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 $132 billion and $907 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, 116 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 221 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, 348 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 664. Sixteen 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.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• The Energy Department is withdrawing its zero-based regulating final rule from May 29.
• Next generation 911 services.
• The VA’s 72-hour notification rule for emergency treatment.
• IRS trust regulations.
• Low power television information collection.
• Squid specifications.
• Subsidies for rural biobased product manufacturers.
• The Census Bureau’s age search fee structure.
• Submarine cable procedures.
• Accounting standards for government procurement.
• Exceptions to the Pribilof Islands’ dog ban.
• Airline refunds.
• The Organic Certification Cost Share Program.
• Emission standards for plywood and composite wood products.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Next generation 911 services.
• Phonorecord royalties.
• HUD rules for flood hazard exposure.
• Anti-money laundering rules from the Federal Reserve.
• Naturalization application fees.
• Pipeline repair criteria.
• Threatened species status for the Kern Canyon slender salamander and endangered species status for the relictual slender salamander.
• NEPA regulations at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• The Energy Department is reviewing its analytic methods for setting energy conservation standards.
• It is also changing its policies for considering new energy conservation tests and standards.
• PBGC rules for recouping benefit overpayments.
• Fingerprint and photograph requirements for firearms applications.
• Rest requirements for flight crews.

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