This week in ridiculous regulations: Space innovation and mariner credentials

The House passed a bill to ban TikTok that could easily be repurposed for other companies. It now moves to the Senate. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from washing machines.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 73 final regulations last week, after 65 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 18 minutes.
• With 608 final regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 2,923 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 35 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 25 the previous week.
• With 390 proposed regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 1,875 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 483 notices last week, after 493 notices the previous week.
• With 4,690 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 22,548 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,902 notices in 2023, 22,505 in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 1,958 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,831 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2024 contains 370 pages.
• With 19,223 pages so far, the 2024 Federal Register is on pace for 92,418 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, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for six 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 three new final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after seven the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 58 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 278 significant regulations in 2024.
• For comparison, there were 290 such regulations in 2023, 255 in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2024, 152 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 731. Thirteen of them are significant, on pace for 63.
• 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:

• Price controls for credit card late fees.
• Financial market utilities.
• Export controls for Nicaragua.
• Don’t traffic arms to Nicaragua.
• The FDA is liberalizing its cherry pie regulations.
• 2-Methyl AP-237 is now a Schedule I controlled substance, same as marijuana and heroin.
• Introducing the Contra Costa viticultural area.
• New fuel efficiency tests for heavy-duty engines.
• Energy conservation standards for residential clothes washers.
• Energy conservation standards for consumer clothes washers.
• Payload disclosure.
• Military IDs.
• Inflation-adjusted penalties for oil and gas operations on the outer continental shelf.
• Inflation-adjusted penalties from the Indian Affairs Bureau.
• Safety standards for residential garage door operators.
• The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is scrapping its 30-day waiting period between withdrawals.
• Controls on radiation-hardened circuits.
• Correction to text spam rules.
• Archaeological materials from Honduras.
• Critical habitat for 12 Hawaiian species.
• Medicare payments for dialysis.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Energy conservation standards for residential clothes washers.
• Energy conservation standards for consumer clothes washers.
• Energy conservation standards for dishwashers, residential clothes washers, and consumer clothes washers, courtesy of the Department of Redundancy Department.
• Electric bicycles.
• Combination unit respirators.
• FCC rules for space innovation.
• Continuing education requirements for actuaries.
• Mariner credentialing.
• The Labor Department’s semiannual regulatory agenda.
• Energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and freezers.
• Buy America requirements from the Federal Highway Administration.
• Air travelers in wheelchairs.
• Market development for organic mushrooms and pet food.

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