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 May 25 to May 29, the Federal Register grew by 1,620 pages for a year-to-date total of 32,976 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and 2018, the Federal Register reached 25,492 pages and 25,544 pages, respectively. As of May 29, the 2020 total led the 2019 total by 7,484 pages and the 2018 total by 7,432 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 459 documents:
• 383 notices
• six presidential documents
• 28 proposed rules
• 42 final rules

Two proposed rules concerning the federal recruitment and appointment of military spouses and emergency preparedness for certain nuclear reactors 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 20 significant proposed rules and 28 significant final rules as of May 29.

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: https://ballotpedia.org/Changes_to_the_Federal_Register

Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2018: https://ballotpedia.org/Historical_additions_to_the_Federal_Register,_1936-2018