This week in ridiculous regulations: Bank hiring and salmonella frameworks

Baseless recession freakouts dominated the news cycle. The just-released 2024 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments got its share of attention as well. Kamala Harris chose Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential nominee. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from unlocked phones to potassium carbonate tolerance.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 64 final regulations last week, after 57 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 38 minutes.
• With 1,898 final regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 3,081 final regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 3,018 new final regulations in 2023, 3,168 in 2022, and 3,257 in 2021.
• Agencies issued 40 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 46 the previous week.
• With 1,089 proposed regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 1,768 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,102 proposed regulations in 2023, 2,044 in 2022, and 2,094 in 2021.
• Agencies published 520 notices last week, after 468 notices the previous week.
• With 14,396 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 23,370 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,902 notices in 2023, 22,505 in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 2,232 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,387 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2024 contains 425 pages.
• With 65,514 pages so far, the 2024 Federal Register is on pace for 106,354 pages.
• For comparison, the 2023 Federal Register totals 90,402 pages, the 2022 Federal Register has 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 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 13 such rules so far in 2024, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for 21 3(f)(1) regulations in 2024.
• For comparison, there were 28 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations in 2023, 43 economically significant rules in 2022, and 26 in 2021. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.
• The total estimated cost of 2024’s 3(f)(1) major regulations ranges from net savings of $17.82 billion to net savings of $22.87 billion, per the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
• For comparison, the cost tally for 2023’s 3(f)(1) major and economically significant regulations ranges from $62.60 billion to 90.48 billion. Cost estimates for 2022’s economically significant rules range $45.28 billion to $78.05 billion. In 2021, net costs ranged from $13.54 billion to $1992 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were seven new final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after four the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 223 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 362 significant regulations in 2024.
• For comparison, there were 290 such regulations in 2023, 255 in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2024, 457 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 742. Forty-eight of them are significant, on pace for 78.
• For comparison, 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. 2021’s totals were 912 regulations affecting small businesses, 101 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• The Health and Human Services Department is inflation-adjusting its civil monetary penalties.
• Updates to the National Organic Program.
• Numbering policies for modern communications.
• The Federal Maritime Commission, which enforces the anti-competitive Jones Act, has a new regulation for determining anti-competitive features in agreements.
• Hiring policies for banks.
• Regulations for issuing temporary closure regulations.
• Tuna fishing.
• Active-duty military personnel are exempt from Merchant Mariner Credential fees.
• Updates to various Medicare payment plans here, here, here, here, and here.
• Environmental reviews for renewing nuclear power plant operating licenses.
• Potassium carbonate tolerance exemption.
• Spectrum allocation for federal Earth stations communicating with non-federal fixed satellite service space stations.
• Radio broadcasts in Canadian, Texas.
• Puget Sound fireworks shows.
• Applying for Small Business Administration subsidies.
• CFPB whistleblowers.
• The Postal Regulatory Commission’s FOIA policies.
• Cybersecurity labeling for the Internet of Things.
• Threatened species status for the Peal River map turtle. The same rule also gives threatened species status to the Alabama map turtle, Barbour’s map turtle, Escambia map turtle, and the Pascagoula map turtle, which are not threatened, but look similar.
• The Homeland Security Department addressed some confusing immigration paperwork.
• Orbital debris in the New Space Age.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Here’s the rule requiring airlines to seat children with their parents and will increase ticket prices.
• TV broadcasts in Lubbock, Texas.
• Endangered species status and critical habitat for the Cedar Key mole skink.
• Endangered species status for the Long Valley speckled dace.
• Unlocking requirements for smartphones.
• Proposed waiver and extension of the project period for the Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities-National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Cetner (PPSID-NTAD) Program.
• Salmonella framework.
• Installing high wall suites in Boeing 787-9 airplanes.
• Endangered species status for the eastern regal fritillary and threatened species status for the western regal fritillary.
• Protective regulations for the oceanic whitetip shark.
• Animal feed.
• Powered-lift safety continuum.
• Alternative physical security requirements for advanced nuclear reactors.
• Terrorist money laundering.

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