The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions.
From December 5 through December 9, the Federal Register grew by 1,602 pages for a year-to-date total of 75,890 pages.
The Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.
This week’s Federal Register featured the following 520 documents:
- 404 notices
- Six presidential documents
- 49 proposed rules
- 61 final rules
Eight proposed rules, including energy conservation standards for circulator pumps from the Energy Department, and three final rules, including implementation of provisions of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 from the Rural Utilities Service were deemed significant under E.O. 12866—defined by the potential to have large impacts on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. Significant actions may also conflict with presidential priorities or other agency rules. The Biden administration has issued 225 significant proposed rules, 238 significant final rules, and four significant notices as of December 9.
Ballotpedia maintains page counts and other information about the Federal Register as part of its Administrative State Project. The project is a neutral, nonpartisan encyclopedic resource that defines and analyzes the administrative state, including its philosophical origins, legal and judicial precedents, and scholarly examinations of its consequences. The project also monitors and reports on measures of federal government activity.
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