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. 27 through Dec. 31, the Federal Register grew by 1,428 pages for a year-to-date total of 74,532 pages.
The Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.
This week’s Federal Register featured the following 427 documents:
- 328 notices
- Five presidential documents
- 42 proposed rules
- 52 final rules
Four proposed rules, including requirements for capital planning and stress capital buffer determination from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and 15 final rules, including reissuance of Nationwide Permits to authorize activities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 from the Engineers Corps 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 126 significant proposed rules, 169 significant final rules, and four significant notices as of December 31.
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: