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 Aug. 7, 2023, through Aug. 11, 2023, the Federal Register grew by 2,852 pages for a year-to-date total of 54,872 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 582 documents:

• 471 notices
• Three presidential documents
• 39 proposed rules
• 69 final rules

Six proposed rules, including proposed amendments to implement provisions of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 from the Defense Department, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; seven final rules, including minimum accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way from the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board; and one notice, including the announcement of public listening sessions regarding the practice of telemedicine in regard to controlled substances from the Drug Enforcement Administration were deemed significant under E.O. 12866, as amended by E.O. 14094—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 in 2023 has issued 220 significant proposed rules, 161 significant final rules, and seven significant notices as of Aug. 11.

Ballotpedia maintains page counts and other information about the Federal Register as part of its neutral, nonpartisan encyclopedic coverage that defines and analyzes the administrative state, including its philosophical origins, legal and judicial precedents, and scholarly examinations of its consequences. The coverage area also monitors and reports on measures of federal government activity.

Click here to find more information about weekly additions to the Federal Register in 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017: Changes to the Federal Register

Additional reading:

Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2021: Historical additions to the Federal Register, 1936-2021