The week in regulations: Radiology software and foreign atomic energy assistance

No new regulations were issued on Friday in honor of Juneteenth, the most classically liberal holiday there is. President Trump signed an agreement to give Iran’s government $300 billion. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from date taxes to skate complexes.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 47 new final regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new final regulation every three hours and 34 minutes.
• Agencies have issued 1,325 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,831 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 23 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 832 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,778 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 349 notices last week.
• With 9,829 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 21,002 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 1,087 new Federal Register pages last week.
• With 36,962 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 78,979 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 316 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 15 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 $907 billion 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, 100 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 214 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, 302 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 645. Fourteen 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:

• The Postal Service is discontinuing parcel service for Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail Open and Distribute service.
• Lower regulatory burdens for returning mentally ill US nationals to the United States.
• Device classification for ingestible gastrointestinal blood detection capsules.
• And for machine learning-based radiology software.
• Reducing bureaucracy in Native American programs.
• Pipeline petition reconsideration.
• Resin acids.
• The CFPB is rescinding a special purpose credit program.
• The USDA is rescinding some of its Title VI regulations.
• Two species will not be added to the Endangered Species List.
• Price changes for international mail.
• Assistance to foreign atomic energy activities.
• Miscellaneous FCC regulations for common carriers.
• Northeast skate complex specifications.
• NEPA regulations for Veterans Affairs actions.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Information collection on pharmacy benefit managers’ compensation.
• Tax increase on date growers in Riverside County, California.
• The CFTC is requesting information on fintech firms.
• Reducing bureaucracy for child support enforcement problems.
• Data collection for prisoners’ phone use.
• The SEC’s trade-through rule.
• Medicare drug price negotiating.
• Reduced reporting burdens for arms traffickers.
• CFTC whistleblower award determination.
• Energy conservation standards for distribution transformers.

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