Federal Register weekly update: 42 rules added in first week of January (2024)


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 Jan. 1, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2024, the Federal Register grew by 858 pages for a year-to-date total of 858 pages.

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

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 305 documents:

  • 240 notices
  • Eight presidential documents
  • 19 proposed rules
  • 42 final rules

One proposed rule, including one that sought stakeholder and public comment regarding amendments to natural resource waste and hazardous substance release inspection procedures from the Interior Department; two final rules, including a rule that established the threatened Nassau Grouper as having critical habitat from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and no notices 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 2024 has issued 1 significant proposed rule, 2 significant final rules, and no significant notices as of Jan. 5, 2024.

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