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 April 27 to May 1, the Federal Register grew by 3,144 pages for a year-to-date total of 26,318 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and 2018, the Federal Register reached 19,682 pages and 19,904 pages, respectively. As of May 1, the 2020 total led the 2019 total by 6,636 pages and the 2018 total by 6,414 pages.
The Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.
- 425 notices
- five presidential documents
- 49 proposed rules
- 48 final rules
Four final 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 15 significant proposed rules and 24 significant final rules as of May 1.
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.