This Week in Ridiculous Regulations

Finland, which borders Russia, is joining NATO. Former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from steam-generated electricity to horseracing oversight budgets.

On to the data:

• Agencies issued 75 final regulations last week, after 68 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 14 minutes.
• With 757 final regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 3,052 final regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 3,168 new final regulations in 2022, and 3,257 new final regulations in 2021.
• Agencies issued 43 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 45 the previous week.
• With 528 proposed regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 2,129 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,044 new proposed regulations in 2022, and 2,094 in 2021.
• Agencies published 447 notices last week, after 525 notices the previous week.
• With 5,483 notices so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 22,109 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,505 notices in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 1,556 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,453 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2023 contains 315 pages.
• With 19,546 pages so far, the 2023 Federal Register is on pace for 78,815 pages.
• For comparison, the 2022 Federal Register totals 80,756 pages, and 2021’s is 74,352 pages. The all-time record adjusted page count (subtracting 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. There are seven such rules so far in 2023, one in the last week.
• This is on pace for 28 economically significant regulations in 2023.
• For comparison, there were 43 economically significant rules in 2022, and 26 in 2021.
• The total estimated cost of 2023’s economically significant regulations so far ranges from $55.82 billion to $78.69 billion, according to numbers self-reported by agencies.
• For comparison, the running cost tally for 2022’s economically significant rules ranges from net costs of $45.28 billion to $78.05 billion. In 2021 net costs ranged from $13.54 billion to $19.36 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were five regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after three the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 65 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 262 significant regulations in 2023.
• For comparison, there were 255 such new regulations in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2023, 175 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 706. Nineteen of them are significant, on pace for 77.
• For comparison, in 2022 there were 912 rules affecting small businesses, 70 of them significant. 2021’s totals were 912 rules affecting small businesses, 101 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new regulations:

• Energy conservation standards for variable refrigerant flow multi-split air conditioners and heat pumps.
• Premarket approval applications for spinal spheres used in interverterbral fusion surgery.
• The National Endowment for the Humanities is inflation-adjusting its civil penalties.
• Rates for inmates’ interstate phone calls.
• The Egyptian tortoise is now an endangered species.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is updating its event security procedures.
• The Federal Reserve is amending its Regulation A, which concerns extensions of credit at Federal Reserve Banks.
• It is also amending Regulation D, which concerns reserve requirements.
• The National Indian Gaming Commission has new rules for management contracts.
• The EPA is updating emission testing provisions for air emission sources.
• The EPA is updating its National Priorities List.
• The EPA has new rules for steam-generated electricity.
• The EPA has new rules for reviewing performance standards for industrial surface coating of plastic parts for business machines.
• Employment visa for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
• Joint U.S.-Canadian rules for refugees from other countries.
• Maintaining vented lead-acid storage batteries.
• The FTC issued a rule for horseracing oversight budgets.
• Belarus sanctions.
• The Patent and Trademark Office is adjusting some of its patent fees from fiscal year 2020.
• Staffing issues at Reagan, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty Airports.
• ID verification requirements for federal acquisitions.
• Marine mammal casualties from naval construction.

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