The Week in Regulation: June 20-24, 2011
More than half a billion dollars in new regulatory burdens this week drove compliance costs to more than $69.1 billion. Warning labels for cigarettes and a slew of new Dodd-Frank rulemakings drove costs higher by $587.4 million.
Administrative agencies proposed 73 rules and implemented an astounding 90 final rules this week. The number of significant regulations increased by 16, and there have now been 299 “significant” proposals this year; the federal government has issued 37,240 pages of regulations in 2011.
New FDA rules requiring graphic smoking warnings on cigarettes are expected to cost more than $519 million. The final rules require color images depicting the negative consequences of smoking. The law would also govern cigarette advertisements.
The Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were busy this week issuing five Dodd-Frank rulemakings. Federal Reserve regulations would implement Regulation M and consumer leasing, Regulation Z and the threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions, Regulation B and credit applications, and finally, an extension of the comment period for “Margin and Capital Requirements for Covered Swap Entities.”
SEC issued exemptions and relief from compliance with certain provisions of Dodd-Frank and the Exchange Act of 1934.
To date, the total estimated compliance costs from Dodd-Frank remain at $1.04 billion, but of the 134 major rulemakings, only 24 contain quantified cost estimates.
Finally, EPA issued some bad news to the state of Idaho. Although the agency approved of Idaho’s Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP), the rule, unlike most SIP’s, is expected to cost more than $21 million. This is first SIP to date that carries significant compliance costs.
For the year the total cost of 427 new proposed or enacted regulations is more than $69.1 billion, or roughly $566 million a day in compliance costs. Click here for our database of the major regulations promulgated in 2011.
