Economically Significant Rules
The following dashboard provides a summary of trends in the use of "Economically Significant Rules" (defined below) by major federal departments and agencies by presidential year / party.
An economically significant rule is defined as a regulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that may: 1) have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; 2) create a "serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; 3) materially alter the budget impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs; 4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates (see: Federal Register, Presidential Documents, Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993)
Sources
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Crews, Clyde Wayne, Jr. Ten Thousand Commandments An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State. Report. Competitive Enterprise Institute. 2019 ed. Washington, D.C. 1-113. https://cei.org/sites/default/files/10KC2019.pdf
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Crews, Clyde Wayne, Jr. What’s the Difference between “Major,” “Significant,” and All Those Other Federal Rule Categories? A Case for Streamlining Regulatory Impact Classification. Report no. 8. Competitive Enterprise Institute. 2017. 1-26. https://cei.org/content/whats-difference-between-major-significant-and-all-those-other-federal-rule-categories
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Logomasini, Angela, and Henry I. Miller. "It’s Time to Shine a Light on Regulatory ‘Dark Matter’." National Review, February 20, 2017. https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/02/federal-bureaucracy-regulatory-dark-matter-kills-innovation/
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Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget, U.S. General Services Administration
Recommended
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"Reg Stats" (Regulatory Studies Center, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences and George Washington University)
Commentary
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Attempts to accurately assess the impact of regulatory activity may be complicated by the thousands of combined executive branch and federal agency actions that have binding regulatory effects, but are subject to little or no empirical scrutiny. Some analysts refer to this activity as "regulatory dark matter." For critical analysis, see:
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Crews, Clyde Wayne, Jr. "Here's What Donald Trump and Congress Should Do About Regulatory Dark Matter." Forbes, March 14, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynecrews/2017/03/14/heres-what-donald-trump-and-congress-should-do-about-regulatory-dark-matter/#39708e47413a
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"It's Time to Shine a Light on Regulatory Dark Matter," (National Review 2017)