The Week in Regulation: June 4-8

The EPA accelerated a relatively slow week with a surprising rule on internal combustion engines.  The proposal, which costs almost half a billion dollars, represented more than 90 percent of the week’s total regulatory burdens.

Administrative agencies proposed 39 rules and implemented 65 final rules.  Federal agencies issued 9 new documents “deemed significant under [Executive Order] 12866,” bringing the yearly revised total to 334 according to the Federal Register; the federal government has issued 34,178 pages of regulations in 2012.

The EPA engine rule was a surprise because the agency did not issue a formal press release and the media coverage was almost non-existent.  The public inspection docket served as the only notice. 

EPA’s proposed rule controls hazardous air pollutants from stationary internal combustion engines, including spark and compression ignition systems.  EPA estimates the compression ignition component will generate $373 million in costs, with roughly $1 billion in benefits.  For spark ignition, however, costs could exceed benefits by $53 to $60 million.  The main health benefits include reduced NO₂, ozone, and formaldehyde emissions.  

ObamaCare

There were no notable ObamaCare regulations this week.  Since passage, the Affordable Care Act has imposed an estimated $14.9 billion in private-sector burdens, approximately $7 billion in costs to the states, and 58.9 million annual paperwork hours.

Dodd-Frank

There were two notable Dodd-Frank rulemakings this week but neither included major regulatory burdens.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is reopening the comment period for Regulation Z, seeking new data. 

In addition, the Federal Reserve adopted a final rule implementing Section 618 of Dodd-Frank.  The rule “outlines the requirements that a securities holding company must satisfy to make an effective election, including filing the appropriate form with the responsible Reserve bank…”  It mandates minimal paperwork burdens.

Click here to view the total estimated compliance costs from Dodd-Frank; since passage the legislation has produced more than 52.9 million paperwork burden hours and imposed $7 billion in direct compliance costs.  Based on calculations from the Financial Services Roundtable, Dodd-Frank regulations would require 26,450 employees to file federal paperwork.

Total Burdens

At the current pace, the published regulatory burden for 2012 will exceed $110 billion.  Since January 1, the federal government has imposed $48.9 billion in compliance costs and more than 109.2 million annual paperwork burden hours.  For comparison, it took 7 million hours to build the Empire State Building.  

Click here for our comprehensive database of regulations and rulemakings promulgated in 2012.