Federal Register weekly update: Highest weekly significant document total so far in 2023


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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. 21, 2023, through Aug. 25, 2023, the Federal Register grew by 1,750 pages for a year-to-date total of 58,494 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 567 documents:

  • 450 notices
  • Two presidential documents
  • 52 proposed rules
  • 63 final rules

Fourteen proposed rules, including proposed amendments to horse protection regulations from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and nine final rules, including updated regulations under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts from the Labor Department, 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 242 significant proposed rules, 174 significant final rules, and seven significant notices as of Aug. 25.

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.

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