Federal Register weekly update: 16 significant documents added


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, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions.

From Nov. 15 through Nov. 19, the Federal Register grew by 2,630 pages for a year-to-date total of 65,522 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 587 documents:

  • 471 notices
  • 12 presidential documents
  • 41 proposed rules
  • 63 final rules

Five proposed rules, including medical certification standards for commercial balloon operations from the Federal Aviation Administration, eight final rules, including revisions to the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and three notices, including an announcement for the inpatient hospital deductible and amount for extended care services coinsurance for services in 2022 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 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 96 significant proposed rules, 123 significant final rules, and four significant notices as of November 19.

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.

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