This week in ridiculous regulations: Junk fees and pool pumps

Hamas attacked Israel, and another tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Claudia Goldin won the economics Nobel for her work on women in the workplace. There was drama in selecting a new Speaker of the House. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Egypt) is facing additional corruption charges. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from sweet onion marketing to very light airplanes.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 38 final regulations last week in a four-day week, after 81 the previous five-day week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every four hours and 25 minutes.
• With 2,401 final regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 3,047 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 27 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 58 the previous week.
• With 1,696 proposed regulations so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 2,152 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,044 new proposed regulations in 2022, and 2,094 in 2021.
• Agencies published 282 notices last week, after 593 notices the previous week.
• With 18,065 notices so far in 2023, agencies are on pace to issue 22,925 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,505 notices in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 1,397 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 2,254 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2023 contains 360 pages.
• With 71,271 pages so far, the 2023 Federal Register is on pace for 90,445 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, one 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 seven regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after seven the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 224 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 284 significant regulations in 2023.
• For comparison, there were 255 such new regulations in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2023, 633 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 803. 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:

• Negotiability proceedings from the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
• Energy conservation standards for dedicated purpose pool pump motors.
• Small business debt refinancing in the 504 Loan Program.
• Reformulated gasoline for certain areas.
• Dashboard cameras for passenger trains.
• Drug testing via urine for federal employees.
• Drug testing via saliva for federal employees.
• Subcontracting rules for defense contractors.
• Very Light Airplanes are now a special class of aircraft.
• Civil money penalties for insurers who don’t properly report to Medicare.
• Tax increase on California-grown olives.
• Tax increase on Walla Walla Valley sweet onions.
• Labeling requirements for broadband service.
• NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program.
• A second temporary extension allowing doctors to prescribe medications via telemedicine.
• Guidance for food importers.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• The Prune Administrative Committee, which has been inactive for 18 years, might be eliminated in 2030. A public commenting period is open until Nov. 13 if you want to weigh in.
• An EPA rule for propionyl chloride, which can be used to make fentanyl.
• Revised air emissions reporting requirements.
• Reclassifying the West Indian manatee.
• New FDIC regulations for institutions with $10 billion or more in assets.
• Grading standards for pecans.
• Marketing Order changes for pears grown in Oregon and Washington.
• IRS clean vehicle credits.
• Energy conservation standards for commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers.

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