This week in ridiculous regulations: energy labeling and wheel weights

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to visit President Biden this week. The moon may get assigned a time zone. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from radioactive accountability to steel plant emissions.

On to the data:

• Agencies issued 62 final regulations last week, after 42 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every two hours and 43 minutes.
• With 768 final regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 2,866 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 24 proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after 41 the previous week.
• With 491 proposed regulations so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 1,832 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 419 notices last week, after 502 notices the previous week.
• With 6,034 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 22,515 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 22,902 notices in 2023, 22,505 in 2022, and 20,018 in 2021.
• Last week, 1,727 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,784 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2024 contains 360 pages.
• With 24,335 pages so far, the 2024 Federal Register is on pace for 90,802 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 are two such rules so far in 2024, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for eight 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 ranges from net savings of $16.41 billion to net savings of $16.45 billion, per the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
• 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 11 new final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant” last week, after five the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 74 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 298 significant regulations in 2024.
• For comparison, there were 290 such regulations in 2023, 255 in 2022, and 387 in 2021.
• So far in 2024, 186 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 694. Eighteen of them are significant, on pace for 67.
• 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:

• Operating drones.
• The Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office is inflation-adjusting its civil monetary penalties.
• Regulations concerning endangered species.
• Regulations concerning interagency cooperation regarding endangered species.
• Lobster harvest guidelines for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
• New EPA rules for sterilization facilities.
• Debarring vessels from entering US ports.
• The Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program.
• IVF benefit eligibility for veterans.
• New EPA rules for emissions from petroleum refineries.
• Export controls for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
• Emissions from steel plants.
• Expanding the Board of Immigration Appeals.
• Radioactive source security and accountability.
• Revised Endangered Species Act rules for the African elephant.
• OSHA rules for worker walkaround representatives.
• Retained water in raw meat and poultry.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• Natural gas pipeline business practices.
• Energy conservation tests for central air conditioners and heat pumps.
• Threatened species status for the northwestern pond turtle and the southwestern pond turtle.
• The Roanoke logperch is no longer on the Endangered Species List.
• Lead wheel weights.
• Medicare payments for inpatient psychiatric facilities.
• Patent fees for fiscal year 2025.
• The FTC has extended the comment period for its energy labeling rule.

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