THE WEEK IN REGULATIONS: MARINE TERMINAL FIRES AND MARIJUANA RESCHEDULING

The following information was released by the Competitive Enterprise Institute:

Ryan Young - 05/04/2026

Deregulation

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell will remain on the Fed's Board of Governors when Kevin Warsh takes over. GDP rebounded to 2 percent growth in the first quarter of 2026. Spirit Airlines shut down, likely making it a victim of populist antitrust officials who blocked its merger with JetBlue. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from water carriers to railroad conductors.

On to the data:

Agencies issued 62 new regulations last week.

This is equivalent to one new regulation every two hours and 43 minutes.

Agencies have issued 872 final regulations so far in 2026.

At this pace, agencies will issue 2,595 final regulations this year.

For comparison, there were 2,441 final regulations in 2025, 3,248 in 2024, and 3,018 in 2023.

Agencies issued 33 new proposed regulations last week.

With 592 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,762 proposed regulations this year.

For comparison, there were 1,498 proposed regulations in 2025, 1,769 in 2024, and 2,102 in 2023.

Agencies issued 342 notices last week.

With 6,868 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 20,440 notices this year.

For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.

There were 1,470 new Federal Register pages last week.

With 23,901 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 71,134 pages.

For comparison, the 2025 Federal Register had 61,461 pages, and 2024 had an all-time record 107,261 pages. The 2023 edition had 90,402 pages.

The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 285 pages.

Rules with annual economic effects of $100 million or more in at least one year qualify as economically significant.

During the Biden administration, this category was temporarily scrapped and replaced with a $200 million annual threshold for being called significant under Section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866 as amended.

A 2025 Trump executive order scrapped the $200 million 3(f)(1) threshold and revived the $100 million economically significant category. Because of the length of time the rulemaking process takes, rules under both thresholds are still appearing.

So far in 2026, there are 10 new regulations that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant. One such regulation appeared in the previous week.

This pace will yield 30 new regulations in 2026 that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant.

For comparison, there were 17 new regulations in 2025 that were either 3(f)(1) or economically significant, 20 in 2024, and 28 in 2023. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.

Regulations that are new in 2026 and are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant are estimated to produce net annual savings between $907 million and $132 billion.

For context, 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025 had estimated net annual costs of $219 million to $1.64 billion. The figures for 2024 are net annual savings of $16.42 billion to $26.45 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.

There were five final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of "significant."

So far this year, 75 new final regulations meet the broader definition of "significant." This pace will yield 223 significant final regulations in 2026.

For comparison, there were 155 such regulations in 2025, 339 in 2024, and 290 in 2023.

So far in 2026, 195 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 580. Ten of them are significant, making a yearly pace of 30.

For comparison, in 2025 there were 597 regulations affecting small businesses, 30 of them significant. In 2024 there were 770 regulations affecting small businesses, 76 of them significant. In 2023 there were 789 regulations affecting small businesses, 106 of them significant.

Highlights from last week's new final regulations:

Student loan subsidies.

Dyed fuel refunds.

Fee applications for oversized postal items.

Classification for phototherapy devices for reducing the appearance of acute post-surgical incisions.

Small business subsidies.

Administrative law judges in the Justice Department.

Reference to obsolete water carriers.

Retrieval catheter classification.

Brain temperature measurement.

Commercial shark fishing.

Tax increase on Florida-grown grapefruit, tangerines, and pummelos.

HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program for housing subsidies.

Immigration fees.

Revised oil and gas leasing regulations.

Open fires in marine terminals.

Railroad conductor certification.

Locomotive engineer certification.

Railroad freight car stenciling requirements.

Extension of emergency import restrictions on Afghan archaeological material.

The DEA is rescheduling certain marijuana-containing food products from Schedule I to Schedule III.

Critical habitat for the rayed bean, sheepnose, snuffbox, and spectaclecase mussels.

And from last week's proposed regulations:

Microreactors.

Dyed fuel refunds.

Removing the North Park phacelia from the Endangered Species List.

Section 337 adjudication and enforcement from the International Trade Commission.

The Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled is revising central nonprofit agencies' requirements to charge fees and is clarifying the permissibility within the AbilityOne Program.

Reasonably available control technology for municipal waste combustors.

Section 45Z clean fuel production credit.

Tax increase on Texas-grown oranges and grapefruit.

HUD revisions to equal access in housing provisions.

Marijuana rescheduling.