Much has been said about the “fiscal cliff” in Washington. Not nearly as much has been said about the impact slowing federal spending will have on New Mexico. Less still has been put forth in terms of economic policies that can make our state less dependant on Washington.
Facing a legal deadline, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final rule on new air quality standards for fine particulate matter. The draft version of the final rule is 778 pages. The American Action Forum previously reviewed the proposed version of the rule here.
Regulatory costs increased significantly this week, with an additional $366 million in burdens. The main cost drivers were a National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed rule for “event data recorders” and a FAA amended rule for crew rest requirements.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received no shortage of public criticism over its regulatory agenda. According to the White House’s own data, many of these critiques are accurate. During the last five years, EPA’s annual paperwork burden, the reporting and recordkeeping requirements imposed on private entities, has jumped by 30 million hours, a 20 percent increase.
WASHINGTON - American Action Forum analysis finds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory burden has increased by 30 million hours - 20 percent - since FY 2007.
“Without action, demand for spectrum will soon outstrip supply.”-FCC Chair Julius Genachowski
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says it’s serious about spectrum. They have authority from Congress to unleash up to 65 megahertz (MHz) during the next three years, even though the looming spectrum crunch will require much more than that. And this time, the Commission promises it will auction spectrum without a hitch.
For the first time in months, regulators added billions in new regulatory costs ($3.4 billion), thanks in part to four Affordable Care Act regulations. In addition, agencies published more than 13.8 million paperwork burden hours.
This week health care implementation accelerated, with three new proposals from the Department of Health and Human Services. Combined, regulators published $93 million in costs and more than 64,000 paperwork burden hours.
The growing cost of regulations has been hidden from the headlines behind the fiscal cliff, but they should not be ignored. Typically, regulations are sent to the White House, reviewed for one to two months, and then sent back to the agency for comments and publication.
