This week in ridiculous regulations: Gas cans and shorts reporting

President Biden issued an Executive Order on AI regulation. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Jobs growth slowed, but still grew. This series was quoted in The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from net neutrality to unauthorized vegetable oil.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 44 final regulations last week in a four-day week, after 37 the previous five-day week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every three hours and 48 minutes.
• With 2,531487 final regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 2,985 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 44 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 46 the previous week.
• With 1,820 proposed regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 2,146 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,044 new proposed regulations in 2022, and 2,094 in 2021.
• Agencies published 466 notices last week, after 406 notices the previous week.
• With 19,421 notices so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 22,902 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,505 notices in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 2,076 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,341 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2023 contains 359 pages.
• With 76,096 pages so far, the 2023 Federal Register is on pace for 89,736 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 21 such rules so far in 2023, two in the last week.
• This is on pace for 25 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 $84.31 billion to $86.43 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 three regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after four the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 234 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 276 significant regulations in 2023.
• For comparison, there were 255 such new regulations in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2023, 659 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 777. Sixty-four of them are significant, on pace for 75.
• 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:

• Fees for reviews of the rule enforcement programs of designated contract markets and registered futures associations.
• Approved spent nuclear fuel cask certification.
• Record availability in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s public reference room.
• Designing liquified natural gas facilities to withstand damage from natural hazards.
• The Forest Service is providing long-term financial assurance for mining projects.
• Mitracarpus polycladus is being upgraded from an endangered to a threatened species.
• Endorsing checks from the US Treasury.
• Electric reliability standards.
• Shorts reporting for institutional investors.
• Elimination of mandatory Roth distributions.
• Gas can safety.
• Textile mill subsidies.
• A withdrawn horse protection amendment.
• New standards for organic poultry and livestock.
• A temporary coral nursery in the Florida Keys.
• Class E airspace over Electric City, Washington.
• Nicaragua sanctions.
• Reinstated protections for gray wolves.
• Reporting securities loans.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Net neutrality.
• Firearms background checks from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• New State Department rules for au pairs on exchange visitor programs.
• Numbering policies for modern communications.
• Working hours for transit employees.
• Marine mammal casualties from wharf maintenance in Puget Sound.
• Chemical risk evaluation procedures under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
• Table saw safety.
• Tracking numbers for mailing food internationally.
• Penalties for health care providers who don’t report information a certain way.
• Cybersecurity requirements for federal information system acquisitions.
• Flight instructor certificates might no longer expire.
• Informational meeting and public hearing for proposed protective regulations for the Banggai cardinalfish.
• The DEA might stop burning drugs.
• Endangered species status for the oblong rocksnail.
• New CFPB rules for personal financial data.
• Regulations for how to manage federal advisory committees.
• Brominated vegetable oil deauthorization.
• Carbon capture and storage.
• The scallop certification process.
• Settling interagency disputes.

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