This week in ridiculous regulations: Animal herders and delaying REAL ID

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President Biden’s final Federal Register week was a busy one. Its 4,199 pages would make for a 209,950-page year if it sustained that pace. CEI released its new Agenda for Congress. Israel and Hamas signed a cease-fire agreement. Blue Origin launched a rocket. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from expat presents to grizzly bears.
On to the data:
- Agencies issued 143 final regulations last week, after 62 the previous week.
- That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every one hour and 10 minutes.
- With 228 final regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 5,182 final regulations this year.
- For comparison, there were 3,248 final regulations in 2024, 3,018 in 2023, and 3,168 in 2022.
- Agencies issued 78 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 21 the previous week.
- With 109 proposed regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 2,477 proposed regulations this year.
- For comparison, there were 1,769 proposed regulations in 2024, 2,102 proposed regulations in 2023, and 2,044 in 2022.
- Agencies published 641 notices last week, after 522 notices the previous week.
- With 1,273 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 22,571 notices this year.
- For comparison, there were 25,506 notices in 2024, 22,902 in 2023, and 28,932 in 2022.
- Last week, 4,199 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 2,043 pages the previous week.
- The average Federal Register issue in 2025 contains 616 pages.
- With 6,776 pages so far, the 2025 Federal Register is on pace for 154,000 pages.
- For comparison, the 2024 Federal Register has an all-time record 107,261 pages. The 2023 edition has 90,402 pages, and the 2022 Federal Register has 80,756 pages.
- Rules with $200 million or more of economic effects in at least one year qualify as major under Section 3(f)(1). This replaces the former economically significant tag for $100 million-plus regulations. There are two 3(f)1 regulations so far in 2025, with both in the last week.
- This is on pace for 45 3(f)(1) regulations in 2025.
- For comparison, there were 20 3(f) significant regulations in 2024, 28 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations in 2023, and 43 economically significant rules in 2022. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.
- This year’s section 3(f)(1) significant regulations (formerly called economically significant) cost an estimated $870 million.
- For context, the cost tally for 2024’s 3(f)(1) significant regulations is net savings of $16.42 billion to 26.45 billion. 2023’s 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations estimated costs range from $62.60 billion to 90.48 billion. Cost estimates for 2022’s economically significant rules range $45.28 billion to $78.05 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
- There were 18 new final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after four the previous week.
- So far this year, there are 30 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 682 significant regulations in 2025.
- For comparison, there were 339 such regulations in 2024, 290 in 2023, and 255 in 2022.
- So far in 2025, 43 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 977. Four of them are significant, on pace for 91.
- For comparison, in 2024 there were 770 regulations affecting small businesses, 76 of them significant. In 2023 there were 789 regulations affecting small businesses, 79 of them significant. In 2022 there were 912 regulations affecting small businesses, 70 of them significant.
Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:
- REAL ID rules are being delayed until May 2027, kind of.
- Red No. 3 food coloring is being banned.
- Buy America requirements for highway construction.
- DEA rules for telemedicine.
- DEA rules for telemedicine for veterans.
- The National Endowment for the Arts is inflation-adjusting its civil penalties.
- So is the Ocean energy Management Bureau.
- And the Farm Credit Administration.
- And the Foreign Assets Control Office.
- And the National Credit Union Administration.
- And the Defense Department.
- And the Government Ethics Office.
- And the FCC.
- And the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- And the Corporation for National and Community Service.
- And the Federal Maritime Commission.
- And the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation.
- And the Surface Transportation Board.
- And the Interior Department.
- And the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau.
- And the National Transportation Safety Board.
- And the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
- And the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
- And the Justice Department.
- And the Land Management Bureau.
- And the Postal Service.
- And the National Indian Gaming Commission.
- And the FTC.
- And FERC.
- Rules for H-2A visas for agricultural workers.
- Two rules for H-2A animal herders.
- A second set of new rules for agricultural workers.
- Rules of practice for hearings before the Federal Reserve.
- Subsidies for clean electricity in low-income communities.
- Medicare payments.
- SEC rules for daily computation of reserve requirements.
- TSA requirements for criminal history background checks.
- Student loan subsidies.
- Federal acknowledgment of American Indian Tribes.
- Greenhouse gas emissions.
- Framework for artificial intelligence diffusion.
- Public briefing on a framework for artificial intelligence diffusion.
- OSHA is ending its rule for occupational exposure to COVID-19.
- The Office of Environmental Quality’s management fund.
- CFPB rules for extending loans to people who are waiting on paychecks.
- Tax credits for clean electricity.
- EPA rules for fuel sampling.
- Classifying human trafficking victims.
- Procedures for handling retaliation for money laundering complaints.
- Micro-captive transactions.
- Expat gifts and bequests.
- Patent fees for 2025.
- Trademark fees for 2025.
- Regulations for the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary.
- Poultry grower payment systems.
- Data connections among self-driving cars.
- Measuring ozone.
- Energy conservation tests for general service lamps.
- Energy conservation standards for portable electric spas.
- Butterfat testing.
- Evidence of disability rules from the Railroad Retirement Board.
- Rules for sampling drinking water.
- A second correction to immigration fees.
- Education grants for Native Americans.
- Authority contracts.
- Defense Department regulations for the WIC program.
- Farm subsidies.
- Energy conservation standards for commercial warm air furnaces.
- Energy conservation tests for compressors.
- And for residential and commercial clothes washers and clothes dryers.
- Railroad accident investigations.
- Using climate-smart crops for biofuel.
- Now that it’s 2025, the FAA will begin issuing aircraft registration and dealer certificates electronically.
- Relatedly, the FAA is sunsetting its practice of stamping documents.
- Marine cybersecurity.
- Price controls for milk.
- Recreational fires in Washington State.
- USMCA rules for textiles, cars, and other goods.
- Aerosol coatings emissions.
- Fuel system integrity for hydrogen vehicles.
And from last week’s proposed regulations:
- The Agricultural Marketing Service is withdrawing a rule on poultry markets. CRI’s David McFadden commented on the rule here.
- Lowering the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.
- Threatened species status for the Clear Lake hitch.
- Powered micromobility devices in national parks.
- Marine mammal casualties from US Navy exercises.
- Now that it’s 2025, US Customs and Border Protection is proposing to allow electronic export manifests for rail cargo.
- Greenhouse gas emissions for defense acquisitions.
- Withdrawal of civil money penalties procedures under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act.
- Catch-up contributions to retirement plans.
- Pesticide residues.
- Insuring preventive services.
- The Children and Families Administration is withdrawing a rule for establishing parentage in the Child Support Services Program.
- It is also withdrawing a rule regarding the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
- Protesting federal acquisition decisions.
- Small business participation in federal acquisitions.
- CFPB rules for electronic transfers among family members using emerging payment mechanisms.
- Three new rules on grizzly bear populations.
- Tax increase for grapefruit grown in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley.
- The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone around a cable-laying zone off the Virginia coast.
- EPA rules for emissions from crude oil and natural gas sources.
- Homeland Security rules for protecting federal property.
- Critical habitat for the longfin smelt.
- The Florida manatee is now a threatened species, and the Antillean manatee is now and endangered species.
- Commercial clean vehicle tax credits.
- Critical habitat for four population segments of the foothill yellow-legged frog.
- The CFPB is withdrawing a rule regarding fees on instantaneously declined transactions.
- HUD is withdrawing a housing subsidy regulation.
- HUD is withdrawing a race-based housing regulation.
- Food labels.
- IRS rules for certain compensation over $1 million.
- Right whale strikes.
- Large municipal waste compactors.
- New EPA chemical regulations invoking the National Defense Authorization Act.
- Rehabilitation training regulations from the Education Department.
- Oversand vehicles.
- Procedures for considering environmental impacts from the Transportation Department.
- DEA rules for telemedicine.
- Law enforcement regulations from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Energy conservation standards for battery chargers.
- Energy conservation standards for fans and blowers.
- Energy conservation standards for consumer boilers.
- Nutrition labels for alcohol.
- Food allergen warnings for alcohol.
For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter. See also CEI’s Agenda for Congress.