Midnight Regulations

The phenomenon of midnight regulations refers to the surge of regulatory activity at the end of every presidential administration. This surge often includes sweeping and controversial regulations that are hard to repeal once approved. During this period, the quality of the agencies’ regulatory analysis drops and regulatory oversight by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) weakens. This page aggregates Mercatus research on this topic as well as the supporting data from Mercatus Regulatory Report Cards.

A list of frequently asked questions about midnight regulations is available.

Research

Regulating in the Dark: Examining Bush Midnight Regulations Sherzod Abdukadirov \| Nov 08, 2012 This paper examines whether political motivation plays a role in the timing of some midnight regulations. It further examines whether political motivation has a negative impact on the analytical quality of midnight regulations. In contrast to other studies that focus on the overall regulatory activity using proxies, this paper concentrates on a detailed analysis of three regulations issued in the final days of the Bush administration.	RegData: The Industry-Specific Regulatory Constraint Database (IRCD) Omar Ahmad Al-Ubaydli, Patrick McLaughlin \| Oct 15, 2012 The Industry-specific Regulatory Constraint Database (IRCD) is a new database that quantifies federal regulation. IRCD offers a novel and objective measure of the accumulation of regulations in the economy overall and for all the different industries in the U.S. IRCD uses text analysis to count the number of binding constraints in the text of federal regulations, which are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). In addition, it measures the degree to which different groups of regulations target specific industries.
Midnight Regulation: Decisions in the Dark? Jerry Ellig \| Aug 28, 2012 The midnight regulation phenomenon is not new or limited to one political party. New research suggests that midnight regulations proposed during the second half of a presidential election year are more likely to have lower-quality regulatory analysis and less likely to use the results of analysis to inform decisions. Thus, these regulations may be particularly costly or ineffective.	Beware the Surge of Midnight Regulations Sherzod Abdukadirov \| Jul 17, 2012 Administrations face fewer political constraints during the midnight period and, thus, take the opportunity to impose their policy preferences. These rushed, politically motivated regulations have poor quality analysis and face less stringent oversight from OIRA. Stemming the surge of midnight regulations requires comprehensive reform to constrain agencies’ ability to issue too many regulations and improve OIRA’s ability to oversee regulatory quality during the midnight period.
The Consequences of Midnight Regulations and Other Surges in Regulatory Activity Patrick McLaughlin \| Mar 10, 2011 Is the midnight regulations phenomenon real and what are its consequences? This paper finds that when an administration’s time is almost up, submissions of economically significant regulations nearly double. Such surges in regulatory activity decrease the duration of regulatory review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), likely because of political pressure to quickly approve new rules. Specifically, one additional economically significant regulation submitted to OIRA decreases the mean review time for all regulations by about two thirds of a day. If OIRA review improves regulation quality, then regulatory surges that decrease review time could hinder such improvement.	Does Haste Make Waste in Regulatory Analysis? Patrick McLaughlin, Jerry Ellig \| Nov 08, 2010 Most federal agencies must conduct economic analysis when proposing major regulations. This paper uses a new dataset scoring the quality of analysis that accompanied proposed regulations in 2008.

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Testimony & Comments

The Impacts of Overdraft Programs on Consumers

Todd Zywicki, Asa Skinner | Jun 28, 2012

Profits gained from overdraft protection have been used by banks to expand services and accessibility for customers both rich and poor, and limiting overdraft protection may threaten many of the benefits that it makes possible.

Analysis and Solutions of the Midnight Regulations Phenomenon

Veronique de Rugy | Feb 04, 2009

Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy testified before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives. De Rugy presented…

Research Summaries & Toolkits

Beware the Surge: "Midnight Regulations"

Sherzod Abdukadirov | Jun 25, 2012

In a series of studies, Mercatus Center scholars examined the phenomenon of “midnight regulations,” or regulations promulgated between a presidential election day and an inauguration day.

Mercatus Regulatory Studies

Charts

The Phenomenon of Midnight Regulations

Compared with non-election years, the number of economically significant regulations submitted for OIRA review more than doubles during midnight periods when control of the White House switches to a different party. The surge is rarely accompanied by an increase in OIRA’s budget or staff. Thus, OIRA can be overwhelmed during midnight periods, resulting in rushed, flawed oversight.

Experts

Sherzod Abdukadirov

Sherzod Abdukadirov is a research fellow at the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Jerry Brito

Jerry Brito is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and directs the Technology Policy Program. His primary research interests are technology and telecommunications policy, government transparency and accountability, and the regulatory process.

James Broughel

James Broughel is a program manager of the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center. Mr. Broughel is a doctorate student in the economics program at George Mason University. He earned his MA in economics from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Jerry Ellig

Jerry Ellig is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His primary research interests include the federal regulatory process, economic regulation, and telecommunications regulation.

Patrick McLaughlin

Patrick A. McLaughlin is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

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Videos

Podcasts

The "Midnight Regulations" Phenomenon

Patrick McLaughlin | July 18, 2012

Patrick McLaughlin discusses the effects of midnight regulations in this Capitol Hill Campus event podcast.

Download the MP3

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Recent Events

The "Midnight Regulations" Phenomenon

Please join Mercatus scholar Patrick McLaughlin for an overview on why midnight regulations matter.

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Books

Regulation: A Primer

Susan Dudley, Jerry Brito | Aug 14, 2012

Federal regulations affect nearly every area of our lives and interest in them is increasing. However, many people have no idea how regulations are developed or how they impact our lives. Regulation: A Primer by Susan Dudley and Jerry Brito provides an accessible overview of regulatory theory, analysis, and practice.

Regulating in the Dark: Examining Bush Midnight Regulations Sherzod Abdukadirov \| Nov 08, 2012 This paper examines whether political motivation plays a role in the timing of some midnight regulations. It further examines whether political motivation has a negative impact on the analytical quality of midnight regulations. In contrast to other studies that focus on the overall regulatory activity using proxies, this paper concentrates on a detailed analysis of three regulations issued in the final days of the Bush administration.	RegData: The Industry-Specific Regulatory Constraint Database (IRCD) Omar Ahmad Al-Ubaydli, Patrick McLaughlin \| Oct 15, 2012 The Industry-specific Regulatory Constraint Database (IRCD) is a new database that quantifies federal regulation. IRCD offers a novel and objective measure of the accumulation of regulations in the economy overall and for all the different industries in the U.S. IRCD uses text analysis to count the number of binding constraints in the text of federal regulations, which are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). In addition, it measures the degree to which different groups of regulations target specific industries.
Midnight Regulation: Decisions in the Dark? Jerry Ellig \| Aug 28, 2012 The midnight regulation phenomenon is not new or limited to one political party. New research suggests that midnight regulations proposed during the second half of a presidential election year are more likely to have lower-quality regulatory analysis and less likely to use the results of analysis to inform decisions. Thus, these regulations may be particularly costly or ineffective.	Beware the Surge of Midnight Regulations Sherzod Abdukadirov \| Jul 17, 2012 Administrations face fewer political constraints during the midnight period and, thus, take the opportunity to impose their policy preferences. These rushed, politically motivated regulations have poor quality analysis and face less stringent oversight from OIRA. Stemming the surge of midnight regulations requires comprehensive reform to constrain agencies’ ability to issue too many regulations and improve OIRA’s ability to oversee regulatory quality during the midnight period.
The Consequences of Midnight Regulations and Other Surges in Regulatory Activity Patrick McLaughlin \| Mar 10, 2011 Is the midnight regulations phenomenon real and what are its consequences? This paper finds that when an administration’s time is almost up, submissions of economically significant regulations nearly double. Such surges in regulatory activity decrease the duration of regulatory review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), likely because of political pressure to quickly approve new rules. Specifically, one additional economically significant regulation submitted to OIRA decreases the mean review time for all regulations by about two thirds of a day. If OIRA review improves regulation quality, then regulatory surges that decrease review time could hinder such improvement.	Does Haste Make Waste in Regulatory Analysis? Patrick McLaughlin, Jerry Ellig \| Nov 08, 2010 Most federal agencies must conduct economic analysis when proposing major regulations. This paper uses a new dataset scoring the quality of analysis that accompanied proposed regulations in 2008.

Mercatus Center

Midnight Regulations