Federal Register weekly update: Tops 50,000 pages


Photo of the White House in Washington, D.C.

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 overall regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions.

From Sept. 6 through Sept. 10, the Federal Register grew by 934 pages for a year-to-date total of 50,836 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 449 documents:

  1. 354 notices
  2. Seven presidential documents
  3. 29 proposed rules
  4. 59 final rules

Three proposed rules, including a new mine safety program from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and two final rules, including a revision to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) hazard mitigation assistance and mitigation planning regulations, 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 52 significant proposed rules, 55 significant final rules, and one significant notice as of Sept. 10.

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 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2019.