Federal Register weekly update; 500 new final rules in first two months of 2020


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.

From February 24 to February 28, the Federal Register grew by 1,938 pages for a year-to-date total of 12,206 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and 2018, the Federal Register reached 7,260 pages and 9,134 pages, respectively. As of February 28, the 2020 total led the 2019 total by 4,946 pages and the 2018 total by 3,072 pages.

The Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 641 documents:
• 494 notices
• four presidential documents
• 57 proposed rules
• 86 final rules
Three final rules and two proposed rules were deemed significant under E.O. 12866—meaning that they could 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 Trump administration in 2020 has issued seven significant proposed rules and 16 significant final rules as of February 21.

Not all rules issued by the Trump administration are regulatory actions. Some rules are deregulatory actions pursuant to President Trump’s (R) Executive Order 13771, which requires federal agencies to eliminate two old significant regulations for each new significant regulation issued.

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.

Click here to find more information about weekly additions to the Federal Register in 2018 and 2017

Additional reading:
Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2016: