Federal Register weekly update: Tops 70,000 pages


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 Dec. 6 through Dec. 10, the Federal Register grew by 1,814 pages for a year-to-date total of 70,688 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 513 documents:

  1. 384 notices
  2. Three presidential documents
  3. 49 proposed rules
  4. 77 final rules

Four proposed rules, including notification of a public hearing for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program Annual Rules from the Environmental Protection Agency, and four final rules, including an extension of the Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) which prohibits specified flights in areas of the Sanaa Flight Information Region (FIR) from the Federal Aviation Administration 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 108 significant proposed rules, 136 significant final rules, and four significant notices as of December 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.

Additional reading: