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. 4, 2023, through Dec. 8, 2023, the Federal Register grew by 1,750 pages for a year-to-date total of 85,816 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 532 documents:

• 427 notices
• Four presidential documents
• 40 proposed rules
• 61 final rules

Five proposed rules, including a proposed increase in cockpit recording time from two hours to 25 hours from the Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration; nine final rules, including amendments to regulations governing national performance management measures and greenhouse gas reporting measures from the Transportation Department and the Federal Highway Administration; and one notice, including an extension to the compliance date for a final rule from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 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 326 significant proposed rules, 262 significant final rules, and 13 significant notices as of Dec. 8.

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