This week in ridiculous regulations: Bent coins and Irish potato taxes

The leader of the Hezbollah terrorist group died in an Israeli military strike. The 2024 Federal Register is poised to reach 80,000 pages this week. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from “highly suspect” Medicare billing to vehicle communications.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 68 final regulations last week, after 72 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 28 minutes.
• With 2,347 final regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 3,121 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 38 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 35 the previous week.
• With 1,341 proposed regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 1,783 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 477 notices last week, after 601 notices the previous week.
• With 18,026 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 23,971 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,902 notices in 2023, 22,505 in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 1,921 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,996 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2024 contains 422 pages.
• With 79,366 pages so far, the 2024 Federal Register is on pace for 105,540 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 15 such rules so far in 2024, with one in the last week.
• This is on pace for 20 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 $16.76 billion to net savings of $23.49 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 five new final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after two the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 250 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 332 significant regulations in 2024.
• For comparison, there were 290 such regulations in 2023, 255 in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2024, 564 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 750. Fifty-five of them are significant, on pace for 73.
• 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:

• Qatar visa waivers.
• Fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority.
• Location-based routing for wireless 911 calls.
• Global Magnitsky sanctions.
• Drug misclassification in Medicaid’s Drug Rebate Program.
• Snowy grouper commercial closure.
• The FDIC’s final statement on bank mergers.
• Environmental rules for metal part surface coatings.
• Chemical data reporting.
• “Highly suspect billing activity” in Medicare.
• Restrictions on arms trafficking deals with Cyprus.
• Overseas military fuel supplies.
• The US Mint is ending its exchange program for bent and partial coins.
• FEC rules for using campaign funds on candidate security.
• The Federal Reserve revised Regulation D for interest paid on bank balances.
• The Federal Reserve also revised Regulation A to lower the primary credit rate it charges member banks.
• Burial benefits for military veterans.
• Russia sanctions.
• More Russia sanctions.
• Proof of disability for railroad workers.
• Housing subsidies.
• Business combinations under the Bank Merger Act.
• Space station regulatory fees.
• FDA rules for small businesses that handle produce.
• Promoting telehealth in rural areas.
• Next Generation 911 services.
• Medical device reclassification for cytomegalovirus deoxyribonucleic acid quantitative assay devices intended for transplant patient management.
• IRS, HHS, and benefits-related requirements related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Export controls for goods with potential military uses.
• Export controls for goods with potential criminal uses.
• Artificial intelligence in campaign ads.
• Communication links between vehicles.
• Preventing conflicts of interest in defense acquisitions consulting.
• Public access to the results of federally funded research.
• The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is withdrawing its special measure against ABLV Bank.
• Extended comment period for proposed arms trafficking regulations.
• Medical device reclassification of antigen, antibody, and nucleic acid-based hepatitis B virus assay devices.
• Marine Mammal Protection Act List of Fisheries for 2025.
• Reopened comment period for updated FEMA public assistance regulations.
• Critical habitat for Florida manatees and Antillean manatees.
• Improving the Robocall Mitigation Database.
• Correction to last week’s clean electricity subsidies.
• Cybersecurity regulations for nuclear power plants.
• Tax increase on Irish potatoes.
• EPA rules on certain chemical substances.
• Withdrawal of the D-SNAP Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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