Insight
November 25, 2014
Inside the Administration’s Fall 2014 Regulatory Agenda
For the fifth consecutive edition, the administration rolled out its regulatory agenda during the holidays, this time, the Friday evening before Thanksgiving. An American Action Forum (AAF) review of the agenda found more than $100 billion in potential costs.
Once again, there are few surprises in the regulatory agenda. The administration listed 23 new “economically significant” regulations. There are two energy efficiency rulemakings scheduled for Central Air Conditioners and Hearth Products, the latter of which could be proposed before 2015. As usual, there are a host of payment and transfer rules implementing Medicare and Medicaid. Finally, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has scheduled a rulemaking to freeze copayments for medication, which could be published by November 2014.
The largest measure is an EPA proposal for greenhouse gas standards at existing power plants. Presently, the administration still plans to finalize the rule next summer, despite several extensions in the comment period. EPA’s standards for coal ash could also add significant new burdens as well and the administration expects to finalize the rule by the end of 2014. Several new energy conservation standards also add to prospective regulatory costs. Below, there are approximately 40 notable rulemakings and their scheduled publication dates.
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November 2014 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Agency |
Rule Stage |
Title |
RIN |
Possible Cost (in millions) |
|
HHS |
Final |
Calorie Labeling: Restaurants |
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|
HHS |
Final |
Calorie Labeling: Vending Machines |
||
|
Energy |
Proposed |
Conservation Standards: Warm Air Furnaces |
|
|
|
CFPB |
Proposed |
Requirements for Prepaid Cards |
|
|
|
December 2014 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Treasury |
Final |
Assessment of Fees for Large Banks |
|
|
|
EPA |
Final |
Coal Combustion Residuals |
||
|
Energy |
Proposed |
Conservation Standards: Gas Furnaces |
|
|
|
Energy |
Proposed |
Conservation Standards: Hearth Products |
|
|
|
Energy |
Final |
Conservation Standards: Lamps |
||
|
EPA |
Proposed |
Review of NAAQS for Ozone |
|
|
|
January 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DOL |
Proposed |
Conflict of Interest-Investment Advice |
|
|
|
Energy |
Final |
Conservation Standards: Commercial Ice Makers |
||
|
EPA |
Final |
GHG Guidelines for New Sources |
|
|
|
February 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EPA |
Final |
Formaldehyde Emissions Standards for Composite Wood Products |
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|
EPA |
Final |
New Residential Wood Heaters |
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|
EPA |
Final |
Underground Storage Tank Rules |
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|
March 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DOT |
Final |
Enhanced Tank Car Standards |
||
|
DOJ |
Final |
Implementation of ADA Amendments |
||
|
EPA |
Proposed |
Phase 2: GHG Standards for Heavy-Duty Engines, Vehicles |
|
|
|
April 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HHS |
Final |
Covered Outpatient Drugs |
||
|
EPA |
Final |
Definition of Waters of the U.S. |
||
|
DHS |
Final |
Worker Identification Credential |
||
|
May-June 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EPA |
Final |
Agricultural Worker Protection Standards |
||
|
DOL |
Final |
Personal Fall Protection Systems |
||
|
HHS |
Final |
Regulation on the Sale of Tobacco Products |
||
|
July-August 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
EPA |
Final |
GHG Guidelines for Existing Sources |
||
|
CFPB |
Final |
Home Mortgage Disclosure |
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|
DOL |
Final |
Persuader Agreements |
|
|
|
HHS |
Final |
Updated Standards for Labeling of Pet Food |
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|
September 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DOT |
Final |
Commercial Driver’s License Clearinghouse |
||
|
EPA |
Final |
Effluent Guidelines for Power Plants |
||
|
DOJ |
Final |
ADA Guidelines for Passenger Vessels |
||
|
October-December 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Energy |
Final |
Conservation Standards: Large Commercial A/C |
||
|
HHS |
Final |
Produce Safety Regulation |
||
|
SEC |
Final |
Rules for Security Swap Dealers |
||
|
SEC |
Final |
Standards for Covered Clearing Agencies |
||
| SEC | Final | Pay Ratio Diclosure | 3235-AL47 | $218 |
|
March 2016 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HHS |
Final |
Revision of Nutrition Labels |
||
|
HHS |
Final |
Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food |
||
|
HHS |
Final |
Serving Sizes of Foods |
||
|
TBD |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DOL |
Final |
Exposure to Crystalline Silica |
||
|
Energy |
Proposed |
Conservation Standards: Central Air Conditioners |
|
|
|
Treasury |
Final |
Margin and Capital Requirements |
||
Possible Cost: $100.2 Billion
The $100 billion estimate contains just 31 quantified figures and an incredible amount of uncertainty. The public does not yet know the cost of proposed ozone standards or the second round of efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks and engines. The previous heavy-duty rule cost more than $8 billion. Final costs could balloon or diminish significantly compared to the proposed rule versions. Given the pace of rulemaking in 2014, it’s likely that the “Year of Action’s” regulatory momentum will carry into 2015.
