Browse regulations

This regulation approves Wyoming's state program to regulate surface coal mining and reclamation operations, including on Federal lands, under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). It establishes a cooperative federal-state agreement where Wyoming assumes primary responsibility for permitting, inspection, and enforcement, subject to federal oversight and coordination with multiple federal agencies.

This represents unconstitutional federal overreach into state land-use authority under the Tenth Amendment, imposing massive compliance costs on Wyoming's coal industry. The program creates a bureaucratic maze that distorts market signals, raises barriers to entry, and concentrates regulatory power prone to capture. Wyoming is fully capable of regulating its own mining activities—with appropriate state bonding and reclamation laws—without federal mandates, funding strings, or the $14,000+ per household hidden tax this regulation embodies.

This regulation approves Ohio's state program to regulate surface coal mining on non-federal lands and establishes a cooperative agreement for state regulation of mining on Forest Service federal lands. It includes provisions for permit applications, inspections, enforcement, bonding requirements, and coordination with multiple federal agencies and laws. The program is conditional and requires state compliance with specific amendments.

The regulation imposes extensive federal oversight on mining operations that could be managed through state authority alone or through liability/contract mechanisms. The compliance costs, inspection regimes, and multi-agency coordination create significant administrative burden—disproportionately affecting smaller operators—while the bonding system duplicates market-based reclamation assurances. Federal involvement in regulating mining on Forest Service lands, though on federal property, should revert to the Forest Service's own land management authority or delegated state primacy without ongoing federal regulatory entanglement. The Tenth Amendment reserves such localized resource management to states, and the unseen costs include stifled mineral development, regulatory capture by established mining interests, and complex compliance that deters new entrants.

49 CFR § 4909.1 displays in Table 1 all PBGC information collection requirements that lack accompanying forms or instructions, along with their OMB control numbers, as mandated by the Paperwork Reduction Act.

It unnecessarily expands the CFR's bulk, contributing to the unmanageable 185,000+ pages that obscure true regulatory obligations. The marginal transparency it provides does not justify the ongoing administrative cost of maintaining the table; removal simplifies the code without harming public understanding of actual requirements.

This part establishes procedures for whistleblower anti-retaliation complaints under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, administered by OSHA. It defines protected activities, filing requirements (90-day window), investigation processes, preliminary orders with reinstatement and double back pay, and appeals before administrative law judges and the Administrative Review Board.

The regulation imposes substantial compliance costs and litigation risk on employers, especially small businesses, through a complex federal administrative regime with automatic preliminary reinstatement and punitive doubled damages. It duplicates existing whistleblower protections, undermines at-will employment, and creates perverse incentives that chill hiring and economic growth.

Regulation implementing Executive Order 14117 to prohibit or restrict transactions involving bulk U.S. sensitive personal data or government-related data with countries of concern or 'covered persons.' It bans data brokerage, certain employment/vendor/investment agreements involving access to thresholds of sensitive data (genomic, biometric, geolocation, health, financial, identifiers), establishes complex definitions and compliance requirements under the auspices of national security and IEEPA.

This regulation represents an unconstitutional expansion of executive power under ongoing 'national emergency' declarations, imposing massive compliance costs on American businesses—especially small firms—while bypassing Congress. It employs a blunt, categorical prohibition that restricts both legitimate and suspicious data flows, undermining economic liberty and market-based solutions. The complex definitions and thresholds create an unworkable administrative state that violates rule-of-law principles, as no person or business can reasonably comprehend its obligations. National security concerns, while legitimate, do not justify this sweeping intrusion into private property rights and commercial transactions; less restrictive, targeted approaches exist that respect federalism and individual liberty.

Enforces Section 2801, taxing U.S. persons receiving gifts/bequests from 'covered expatriates' (those who relinquished citizenship/long-term residency). Defines terms, tax liability, foreign trust election rules, reporting (Forms 708, 3520), and penalties. Applies to transfers on/after January 1, 2025.

Excessive complexity for narrow anti-abuse regime creates disproportionate compliance costs, reporting traps, and chilling effects on legitimate international transfers. Unseen burden on U.S. recipients and foreign trusts far exceeds marginal revenue benefit, violating principles of simple, knowable law.

These are implementing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as applied by DOT agencies (FHWA, FRA, FTA) to highway, transit, and railroad projects. They establish a complex three-tiered review process (Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Statements), mandate extensive interagency coordination, public participation, and mitigation commitments for any project receiving federal funding or approval.

This regulatory regime imposes crushing costs and delays on infrastructure development—adding years and millions to project budgets while doing little to improve environmental outcomes. NEPA has become a weapon for obstructionism, allowing anyone to sue to delay projects on procedural grounds, effectively creating a de facto veto over America's physical infrastructure. The 'unseen' costs are enormous: deferred maintenance, supply constraints, inflated construction prices, and lost economic opportunities that harm precisely the communities these rules claim to protect. Environmental protection can and should be achieved through clear, specific statutes (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act) and state-level review, not through this open-ended, litigation-baiting federal review process that centralizes decisions and shields established interests from competition. States are fully capable of conducting environmental reviews for projects within their borders without this federal bureaucratic overlay.

The regulation mandates comprehensive labeling for in vitro diagnostic products, specifying required information such as product identity, intended use, ingredients, warnings, storage instructions, performance data, and manufacturer details. It applies to reagents, instruments, systems, analyte-specific reagents, and OTC drug tests, with exemptions for research and investigational uses, and includes a process for stockpile exceptions and restrictions on reagent sales.

The regulation imposes massive hidden compliance costs, raises barriers to entry for small innovators, distorts market competition, and assumes a knowledge problem impossible for central planners. Its prescriptive approach stifles voluntary labeling innovation, preempts state-level solutions, and ultimately inflates healthcare prices while reducing product variety and consumer choice.

Regulation establishes procedures for Railroad Retirement Board compliance with garnishment orders for child support and alimony. It defines which RRB benefits are subject to garnishment (annuities and unemployment benefits) versus protected (lump sums under specific sections), sets service requirements, 15-day notice and 30-day response timelines, limits garnishment to 65% of payments (with reductions for supporting other dependents), provides liability protections, and adopts state law governing the family support obligation.

Without this regulation, enforcement of child support and alimony obligations from railroad retirement benefits would be inconsistent and uncertain, potentially denying families critical support income. The rule balances legitimate societal interests—ensuring family support obligations can be collected—while protecting retired railroad workers from complete deprivation through reasonable garnishment caps and procedural safeguards. The deferral to state family law respects federalism, while clear administrative procedures minimize litigation costs and uncertainty for all parties.

This regulation contains two parts: (1) a burdensome pre-approval application requiring detailed financial, technical, and operational disclosures for any entity seeking to provide natural gas service, and (2) extensive compliance requirements for interstate natural gas pipelines affiliated with marketing entities, including mandatory complaint procedures, capacity allocation logs, discount reporting, and website postings under threat of severe penalties ($1.5M+ per violation).

The application process creates anti-competitive barriers to entry, raising costs and delay for new market participants while protecting incumbent utilities. The pipeline compliance requirements, though ostensibly targeting affiliate discrimination, impose massive record-keeping and reporting burdens that distort incentives and empower regulatory micromanagement beyond any legitimate prevention of fraud or coercion. These objectives can be achieved through existing contract and antitrust laws at fraction of the cost, while eliminating unseen harms including reduced infrastructure investment, higher consumer prices, and regulatory capture where incumbents influence rules to maintain their position.

Collection of FERC procedural forms: (1) license transfer application requiring detailed documentation of parties, citizenship, and compliance; (2) securities issuance report with extensive financial details due within 30 days (sunsetting Dec 5, 2026); (3) certificate of concurrence for rate schedules; (4) exemption application for state/municipal licensees from annual charges; (5) QF certification form for small power/cogeneration facilities.

These forms impose substantial compliance costs—legal, accounting, and administrative burdens—that disproportionately harm small operators while providing questionable marginal benefit to FERC's core oversight mission. They exemplify bureaucratic expansion: lengthy paperwork requirements, detailed financial disclosures, and multiple certifications that create barriers to entry, favor entrenched players, and consume resources better deployed to productive enterprise. The sunset provision on securities reporting acknowledges the cost-benefit imbalance; all such forms should be radically simplified or eliminated.

Regulation specifies additional filing requirements for applications for transmission services under FPA section 211, including notice to affected parties (electric utilities, state regulators, federal power agencies), a sworn statement of service, and a Federal Register notice (with sunset clause).

Without mandatory notice, affected utilities and regulators could be blindsided by transmission applications that impact their operations and consumers, leading to disputes and inefficiencies. The sworn statement ensures accountability in a compulsory regulatory regime where voluntary notice is insufficient. The modest compliance cost is outweighed by the transparency and due process it provides.

This regulation outlines procedures for surrendering or terminating federal hydroelectric project licenses, including application requirements, public notice, fulfillment of obligations (notably land restoration on federal lands), and termination for abandonment or construction delays. It deems Clean Water Act certification waived if not acted upon within one year and clarifies that annual charges continue until the effective date of surrender or termination.

Deleting this would let licensees abandon projects without ensuring environmental cleanup or fulfilling obligations, shifting costs to the public. The defined process with notice periods, clear grounds for termination, and enforceable conditions provides necessary accountability and certainty that ad hoc arrangements or litigation could not efficiently replicate.

Procedural and administrative rules governing investment adviser registration, filing requirements, service of process, definitions of clients/investors, family office exemptions, and application specifications under the Investment Advisers Act.

Imposes massive hidden compliance costs ($14,000+/household annually) that disproportionately crush small firms and stifle competition; creates regulatory capture barriers protecting incumbents; generates unknowable complexity violating rule of law; enforcement and disclosure goals can be achieved through market-based reputation systems, state regulation, and private arbitration without federal bureaucracy.

The rule requires businesses selling live-event tickets or short-term lodging to disclose the total price (including mandatory fees) clearly and conspicuously, more prominently than any other pricing information. It mandates itemization of excluded mandatory fees and the final payment amount before purchase, sets detailed standards for 'clear and conspicuous' disclosures across all media, prohibits fee misrepresentation, and preserves state laws offering greater consumer protection.

The regulation imposes significant, hidden compliance costs on businesses—especially small firms—that raise consumer prices. It exceeds federal authority under the Tenth Amendment by regulating local transactions better left to states, stifles innovation with prescriptive design mandates, and raises barriers to entry that protect incumbents. Existing consumer protection laws and market forces already address deceptive pricing without adding this costly layer of bureaucracy and its unseen economic distortions.