Regulation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a pair of proposed rules that would implement the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act. The rules have been under review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for more than a year now.

An American Action Forum (AAF) review of more than 470 paperwork requirements finds there are 642 million hours of regulatory duplication, totaling 990 federal forms, and approximately $46 billion in costs.  In other words, duplicative paperwork would require 321,000 employees working 2,000 hours annually to complete – more employees than Pittsburgh has residents.

The future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is far from certain.  However, with current estimates and a calendar of pending proposals, we can put a price tag on some of its future implementation.  Pending proposals will impose at least $4.6 billion in costs to states and the private sector in addition to 13.2 million paperwork burden hours.  To put the paperwork burden in perspective, assuming an average hourly rate for compliance, the time would cost $412 million.  In total, the

Thanks in part to a new proposed rule from EPA, regulators published $36.6 billion in regulations this week, consuming more than 2,500 pages.  Dodd-Frank implementation, new health care measures, and a revised fracking proposal also highlighted a busy five days in regulation.            

Regulatory Toplines

First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers remain with all those in or with loved ones in Oklahoma. 

There is significant movement on the regulatory front this week. Tomorrow, roughly two months after its unofficial release, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will formally publish its Tier 3 fuel standards proposed regulation. The $35 billion dollar rule is easily the most costly regulation of 2013.

Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the second version of its proposed fracking rule.  AAF reviewed the first iteration here, and noted that in some cases, the first proposal’s costs exceeded benefits by a factor of five.  The most recent version drastically cuts costs “while providing the same benefits,” according to the proposed rule.   

This week regulators added $284 million in costs and 3.8 million paperwork burden hours.  The largest measure was a proposed rule from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) amending existing regulations on certificates of compliance.           

Regulatory Toplines

Later this week, the House of Representatives will take up H.R. 1062, or “The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act.” The bill, authored by Representative Scott Garrett (R-NJ), would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide more comprehensive cost-benefit analyses in its regulations and to undergo a retrospective review of regulations already on the books. The bill currently has 23 co-sponsors.

Aggregate regulatory costs were once again stagnant this week, although the administration did publish three Affordable Care Act (ACA) proposed rules.  Paperwork hours actually declined by 612,000 hours because of two proposals to end and consolidate collections.         

Regulatory Toplines