Week in Regulation

$1.1 Billion in Regulatory Costs

This week regulators published $1.1 billion in regulatory burdens. Annualized costs were $83.7 million, compared with $260 million in benefits, and 188,000 paperwork burden hours. A Department of Energy (DOE) proposal for “Hearth Products” led the week in burdens.                        

Regulatory Toplines

  • New Proposed Rules: 41
  • New Final Rules: 57
  • 2015 Significant Documents: 68
  • 2015 Total Pages of Regulation: 8,238
  • 2015 Proposed Rules: $1.5 Billion
  • 2015 Final Rules: $14.5 Billion

In the depths of winter, DOE published a rule regulating the efficiency of hearth products, known also as fireplaces and stoves. The measure will cost upwards of $1 billion on a net present value basis and generate $260 million in annual benefits. AAF reviewed the proposal here and found the rule will increase prices for consumers by $100. DOE also notes that 60 percent of the industry’s employment could be affected by the rulemaking.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a rule amending the “Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.” The federal government will offset part of the regulatory burdens, but annual private-sector costs are $12 million, with more than 136,000 paperwork burden hours.

Affordable Care Act

Since passage, based on total lifetime costs of the regulations, the Affordable Care Act has imposed a cost of $43.7 billion in state and private-sector burdens and 163.6 million annual paperwork hours.

Dodd-Frank

Click here to view the total estimated revised costs from Dodd-Frank; since passage, the legislation has produced more than 63.7 million paperwork burden hours and imposed $32.9 billion in direct compliance costs. Based on calculations from the Financial Services Roundtable, Dodd-Frank regulations would require 31,940 employees to file federal paperwork.

A Note on Paperwork

There were 521 notices published in the Federal Register this week. The Office of Management and Budget approved 55 paperwork requirements, increasing the paperwork burden hours by 1.7 million hours. 

There was one major change to existing paperwork requirements (defined as an hourly burden increase or decrease of 500,000 or greater). The largest increase in paperwork burden hours imposed by an information collection requirement (ICR) was 1.6 million hours from the Food and Drug Administration. The largest decrease in paperwork burden hours imposed by an ICR was 92,250 hours from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Total Burdens

Since January 1, the federal government has published $16 billion in compliance costs and has added 1.3 million paperwork burden hours. Click here for our comprehensive database of regulations and rulemakings promulgated in 2015.

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