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. 20 through Dec. 24, the Federal Register grew by 1,312 pages for a year-to-date total of 73,104 pages.
The Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.
This week’s Federal Register featured the following 461 documents:
- 370 notices
- Two presidential documents
- 26 proposed rules
- 63 final rules
Five proposed rules, including a policy to allow indemnification of employees of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and six final rules, including an extension to the expiration date of certification plans for pesticide applicators from the Environmental Protection Agency 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 122 significant proposed rules, 154 significant final rules, and four significant notices as of December 24.
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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