This Week in Ridiculous Regulations

The impeachment trial ended the way everyone expected, the State of the Union address happened, and the coronavirus outbreak intensified. Agencies issued new final regulations ranging from Green Bay bridges to cotton grower trust funds.

On to the data:

• Last week, 60 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register, after 44 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 48 minutes.
• Federal agencies have issued 295 final regulations in 2020. At that pace, there will be 2,837 new final regulations. Last year’s total was 2,964 regulations.
• There were also 40 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, for a total of 204 on the year. At that pace, there will be 1,962 new proposed regulations in 2020. Last year’s total was 2,106 proposed regulations.
• Last week, agencies published 458 notices, for a total of 2,183 in 2020. At that pace, there will be 20,991 new notices this year. Last year’s total was 21,804.
• Last week, 1,536 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,331 pages the previous week.
• The 2020 Federal Register totals 7,424 pages. It is on pace for 71,385                                                         pages. The 2019 total was 70,250 pages. The all-time record adjusted page count (which subtracts skips, jumps, and blank pages) is 96,994, set in 2016.
• Rules are called “economically significant” if they have costs of $100 million or more in a given year. One such rule has been published this year. Four such rules were published in 2019.
• The running cost tally for 2020’s economically significant regulations is currently zero. 2019’s total ranges from net savings of $350 million to $650 million, mostly from estimated savings on federal spending. The exact number depends on discount rates and other assumptions.
• Agencies have published nine final rules meeting the broader definition of “significant” so far this year. 2019’s total was 66 significant final rules.
• So far in 2020, 50 new rules affect small businesses; two of them are classified as significant. 2019’s totals were 501 rules affecting small businesses, with 22 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Importing archaeological artifacts from Jordan.
• And Yemen.
• Mali sanctions.
• Coronavirus-related Chinese travel restrictions. A second rule for arrival restrictions is here.
• A new Defense Department regulation for registering private vehicles.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a new regulation for “unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices.” The term builds on the 1914 Federal Trade Commission Act’s famous Section 5, which contains the similar term “unfair or deceptive acts and practices.” This ‘UDAP” standard is a key term for both antitrust and financial regulation and has new company in the form of UDAAP.
• New standards for biomass diesel fuel.
• Three bridges in Green Bay, Wisconsin are now allowed to be operated remotely.
• The IRS has a new rule for “determining the amount to include in an employee’s gross income for personal use of an employer-provided vehicle.”
• Trust funds for cotton and wool growers.
• How to organize board meetings for the Farm Credit Agency.
• Certifying cooktops for 747 airplanes.
• The International Trade Administration is tinkering with its rules for countervailing duties. In practice, this usually means tariffs or antidumping levies.
• Food labeling requirements for small businesses.
• Entry-level truck driver training.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter.