The week in regulations: Professional fireworks and farmer training

The 2026 Federal Register topped 50,000 pages and is on track to exceed 85,000 pages for the year. The economy lost 23,000 jobs, yet the unemployment rate improved. Twenty-five states sued to stop President Trump’s latest tariffs, even as Congress was poised to grant the president more tariff-making powers. Trump issued two new executive orders restricting birthright citizenship. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from vehicle loans to mailing live animals.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 83 new final regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new final regulation every two hours and one minute.
• Agencies have issued 1,824 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 3,020 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 1,110 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 431 notices last week.
• With 12,728 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 21,073 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 2,602 new Federal Register pages last week.
• With 51,358 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 85,030 pages.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 340 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 30 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 five final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant.”
• So far this year, 135 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 224 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, 394 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 652. Eighteen of them are significant, making a yearly pace of 30.
• 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:

• Critical mineral black waste export restrictions.
• Limits on credit unions lending to other credit unions.
• Vehicle loans.
• The National Credit Union Administration is lowering its insurance coverage requirements.
• Medical device classification for fludeoxyglucose F18-guided radiation therapy systems.
• Lavatory accessibility on single-aisle aircraft.
• Reducing regulatory burdens on domestic companies trading battery-powered pipeline equipment.
• Special permit 21379.
• Special permit 21287.
• Special permits 12412 and 11646.
• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is removing burdensome rail reporting requirements.
• It is also reducing its training requirements for farmers.
• Modernizing payments to and from America’s bank account.
• Domestic aerosol shippers.
• Reduction in force regulations from the Personnel Management Office.
• Reduction in force appeals regulations from the Personnel Management Office.
• Reapportioned halibut.
• FM broadcasting construction permits are coming up for auction on February 2, 2027.
• Professional fireworks approval.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Fine particulate matter in Arizona.
• New mailing standards for live animals.
• FDIC rules for credit extensions to insiders.
• Medical kits on airplanes.
• Importing coffee into Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
• Auxiliary provisions to the National Poultry Improvement Plan.
• FOIA regulations from the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
• Child restraint systems.
• Noise standards for high-speed trains.
• The FCC wants to issue export restrictions via an Equipment Authorization Program.
• The FCC is also making wireline deployments easier.
• Reducing federal burdens for Head Start programs.

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