Federal Register weekly update: Tops 10,000 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 Feb. 21 through Feb. 25, the Federal Register grew by 1,500 pages for a year-to-date total of 10,924 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 448 documents:

  • 361 notices
  • Six presidential documents
  • 37 proposed rules
  • 44 final rules

Six proposed rules, including an amendment to the fee schedules for applicants and licensees from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and one final rule, including a correction to the final regulations regarding guidance for determining gross income of partners in relation to foreign corporations from the Internal Revenue Service 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 32 significant proposed rules, 34 significant final rules, and zero significant notices as of February 25.

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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