The Week in Regulation: October 3-7

Three new free trade agreements highlighted a relatively light week in regulation.  Two of the agreements, according to CBO, would collectively impose private-sector costs of $284 million.  The total burden for the week topped $480 million.

Administrative agencies proposed 59 rules and implemented 62 final rules.  Federal agencies issued 12 new documents “deemed significant under [Executive Order] 12866,” bringing the yearly total to 480 according to the Federal Register; the federal government has issued 62,596 pages of regulations in 2011.

CBO issued formal cost estimates for the “Korea Free Trade Agreement” and the “Columbia Trade Promotion Agreement.”  The budget office noted that “new record-keeping requirements” would push private-sector costs above the $142 million threshold established in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).  The cumulative figure for both agreements, $284 million, is a conservative low-end estimate, but one that also does not mention the benefits of free trade.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service made two amendments to state and zone designation regulations this week, actually reducing cost burdens on the private-sector.  However, the total cost savings for these amendments amounted to barely $1 million.

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed 4 regulations this week totaling approximately $38 million in costs; the largest proposal would install a traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS), which would impose more than $27 million in new costs.

Dodd-Frank added no new costs or burden hours this week.  Click here to view the total estimated compliance costs from Dodd-Frank; since passage the legislation has produced (in proposed and enacted rules) more than 25.1 million new paperwork burden hours. 

There were no major Affordable Care Act regulations this week.  Since passage, the Affordable Care Act has imposed an estimated $8.4 billion in private-sector burdens, approximately $2.2 billion in costs for states, and 28.8 million annual paperwork hours.

At the current pace, the total regulatory burden for 2011 (proposed and final) will exceed $104.5 billion.  Since January 1, the federal government has imposed more than 81.9 million annual paperwork burden hours and $80.4 billion in compliance costs.

Click here for our comprehensive database of regulations and rulemakings promulgated in 2011.

Finally, outside commentators have spilled plenty of rhetoric comparing the records of this administration and President Bush’s.  Using the White House’s own “OIRA Reports to Congress,” the Forum averaged the annual estimated regulatory burdens for both administrations.  The chart below illustrates President Obama’s average expected burden eclipsed $8 billion, compared to President Bush’s average of just over $5 billion.  

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