This week in ridiculous regulations: Horseracing and postal products

The Supreme Court heard a case about whether Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding public office under the Fourteenth Amendment. A lawyer’s memo called into question President Biden’s mental acuity. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from table saw injuries to attorney visits.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 47 final regulations last week, after 52 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every three hours and 34 minutes.
• With 318 final regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 2,839 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 72 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 41 the previous week.
• With 215 proposed regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 1,920 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 422 notices the previous week.
• With 2,346 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 20,946 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,902 notices in 2023, 22,505 in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 2,138 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 2,176 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2024 contains 335 pages.
• With 9,738 pages so far, the 2024 Federal Register is on pace for 86,946 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 is one such rule so far in 2024.
• This is on pace for nine 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 is net savings of $16. 46 billion.
• 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 regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after seven the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 27 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 241 significant regulations in 2024.
• For comparison, there were 290 such regulations in 2023, 255 in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2024, 78 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 696. Six of them are significant, on pace for 54.
• 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:

• New FTC spre-merger reporting and waiting period requirements.
• Foreign-Trade Zones Board meetings.
• FTC horseracing budget procedures.
• Veterinary medicine mobility.
• Renewing indirect air carrier security programs.
• Atlantic deep-sea crab specifications.
• Medicare spending procedures.
• More Medicare spending changes.
• HHS rules for prioritizing health resource allocation.
• Protecting power plants from lightning strikes.
• Attorney visits to inmates.
• Re-entry safety zones for returning space flights near Jacksonville, Florida.
• Pollock reallocation.
• A correction to recent prevailing wage rules.
• Guidance for interim staff at nuclear power plants.
• Acceptable payment methods for the Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office.
• Drawbridge schedules in Stuart, Florida.
• Alternative tests for drinking water.
• Chlorpyrifos tolerance restatement.
• The FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
• The National Endowment for the Arts is inflation-adjusting its civil penalties.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• The FAA is modernizing its special airworthiness certification.
• The FAA is also updating its falsification regulations.
• FTC horseracing regulations.
• Table saw injuries.
• Oral presentation opportunities regarding proposed safety standards for residential gas furnaces and boilers.
• Unregulated contaminant monitoring.
• PFAS as hazardous constituents.
• Government approval requirements for broadcasters that provide local journalism.
• Adding the Kings River pyrg to the Endangered Species List. This is a tiny snail that lives near a large lithium mine.
• Preliminary migratory bird hunting rules.
• Competitive postal products.
• Customer rebates for undelivered video programming during blackouts.
• The gray wolf population in the northern Rocky Mountains will not be added to the Endangered Species List.
• Political appointments for people who did not register under the Selective Service law.
• FOIA regulations for the Selective Service System.
• Appellate jurisdiction for the Merit Systems Protection Board.
• Two species will not be added to the Endangered Species List.
• A standard form for federal flood insurance.
• Open burning in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
• Emergency response standards from OSHA.
• Portable fuel container safety.
• Army permit processing for historic properties.
• Emissions standards for lime manufacturing plants.
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For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter.