This week in ridiculous regulations: Blood donations to mortality tables

Poland voted its nationalist-populist government out of power. The US House of Representatives remained without a speaker, but with a lot of drama. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from seabird interactions to marketing sod.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 49 final regulations last week in a four-day week, after 38 the previous five-day week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every three hours and 26 minutes.
• With 2,450 final regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 3,032 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 34 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 27 the previous week.
• With 1,7306 proposed regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 2,141 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,044 new proposed regulations in 2022, and 2,094 in 2021.
• Agencies published 484 notices last week, after 282 notices the previous week.
• With 18,549 notices so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 22,957 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,505 notices in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 1,399 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,397 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2023 contains 360 pages.
• With 72,673 pages so far, the 2023 Federal Register is on pace for 89,942 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. This recently changed to $200 million. There are 19 such rules so far in 2023, none in the last week.
• This is on pace for 24 economically significant regulations in 2023.
• For comparison, there were 43 economically significant rules in 2022, and 26 in 2021. The higher threshold will likely lower this year’s number.
• The total estimated cost of 2023’s economically significant regulations so far ranges from $84.15 billion to $86.25 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 $1992 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were four regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after seven the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 228 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 282 significant regulations in 2023.
• For comparison, there were 255 such new regulations in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2023, 645 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 798. Sixty-two of them are significant, on pace for 79.
• 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 final regulations:

• Special authority for rural broadband funding.
• Liability limits for nuclear insurance.
• Energy conservation standards for pool pump insurance.
• Video relay service compensation formula.
• Pollock fishing in Statistical Area 630.
• License exception eligibility for certain supersonic aero gas turbine engine component technology.
• Transparency requirements for crop insurance cancellation.
• Blood donation guidance.
• Grading standards for processed raisins.
• End-user authorizations for certain Chinese products.
• Nelson’s checker-mallow is no longer and endangered species.
• Twenty-one species are being removed from the Endangered Species List due to extinction.
• Temporary suspension of the continuance referendum requirement for the Federal marketing order for California raisins.
• Certifying Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACUs).
• Radiological source terms for nuclear accidents.
• Consumer information requests o large banks and credit unions.
• Energy conservation standards for electric motors.
• Mortality tables.
• Actuary user fees.
• Lead emissions from airplanes.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• New IRS regulations on sales of seized property.
• Biking on the Cape Hatteras Seashore.
• Circumventing copyright access controls.
• Phasing down hydrofluorocarbons.
• Draft regulatory guide for identifying suitable nuclear power plant sites.
• National performance standards for incidental vessel discharges.
• Phyllostegia glabra var. Ianaiensis might be removed from the Endangered Species List.
• Proposed protective regulations for the banggai cardinalfish.
• Seabird interaction mitigation measures.
• There will soon be a referendum among growers on whether to establish a Natural Grass Sod Research and Promotion Order.
• Here is the proposed rule for the Natural Grass Sod Research and Promotion Order itself.
• New IRS rules for selling seized property.
• Worker walkaround representative designation process.
• New domestic mail standards.
• Military medical malpractice claims.

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