Federal Register

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The Federal Register (FR or Fed. Reg.) is a legal newspaper published every federal working day by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Government Publishing Office (GPO).[1] Each issue contains both proposed and finalized administrative agency rules and regulations, as well as policy statements and interpretations of existing rules. The newspaper also publishes presidential documents (such as executive orders) and notices of public hearings, grant applications, and administrative orders. It is used by government officials, attorneys, businesses, and other parties interested in the daily legal and administrative activities of the federal government.[1]

In 1936, its first year of publication, the Federal Register contained a total of 2,620 pages. By contrast, 80,756 pages were added in 2022.[2] In April 2018, the GPO announced that it had digitized every issue of the Federal Register published from 1936 to 1994, when the government began publishing the paper in both digital and print forms. The GPO digitized 14,587 daily issues of the Federal Register, totaling nearly two million pages of content. These digital copies have been made available at an online archive.[3]

Background

The Federal Register was created in 1935 by the Federal Register Act in order to centralize and standardize the public release of information about federal government affairs. Its first issue was published on March 14, 1936. The publication was created following legal challenges to the 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act, which, along with other components of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, created executive agencies tasked with regulating industry and the economy. The large number of new regulations, rules, orders, and codes generated during the period made it difficult for government officials, regulated parties, and citizens to stay up-to-date.[4]

Purpose

The official website of the Federal Register describes the publication as "the daily journal of the United States government."[5] The publication is used by government officials, attorneys practicing regulatory or administrative law, businesses and organizations subject to federal regulation, and other parties interested in federal government affairs. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, the Federal Register covers government actions in a wide range of topic areas, including environmental, financial, health, trade, and education policy.[1]

Content

Each issue of the Federal Register has four sections of content:[1]

  • Presidential documents
  • Rules and regulations
    • Policy statements
    • Interpretations of rules
  • Proposed rules
    • Petitions for rulemaking
  • Notices
    • Public hearings and meetings
    • Grant applications
    • Administrative orders

See also

External links

Footnotes