Federal Register weekly update: More than 2,000 pages added


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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 November 30 to December 4, the Federal Register grew by 2,280 pages for a year-to-date total of 78,698 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and 2018, the Federal Register reached 67,168 pages and 63,382 pages, respectively. As of December 4, the 2020 total led the 2019 total by 11,530 pages and the 2018 total by 15,316 pages. 

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 517 documents:

  • 412 notices
  • three presidential documents
  • 37 proposed rules
  • 65 final rules

Three final rules regarding revisions to debt collection practices by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; corrected amortization limits from the Farm Credit Administration; and the evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders by the Social Security Administration were all 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 Trump administration in 2020 has issued 32 significant proposed rules, 68 significant final rules, and one significant notice as of December 4.

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 2019, 2018, and 2017. 

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