During a week in which regulators added $12.8 billion in costs, Congress intensified its battle against the regulatory state. This regulatory outburst comes as no surprise during Obama's final months in office. Earlier this month, regulators rushed to release a flood of regulations, hoping to enact new rules before the newly elected administration takes over.

Yesterday's proposed rules on school accountability are yet another reminder that it’s time for federal bureaucrats at the Department of Education to get their hands out of our education system. In its latest power-grab, the department seeks to enact top-down measures that would remove authority from the hands of teachers, school districts, and state government. The regulation would impose Education Department-mandated accountability measures promulgating federal government oversight over student and school achievement.

As the "drop dead date" for Obama administration regulations draws near, we are expecting a flood of "midnight regulations." Regulatory agencies, in an eleventh-hour attempt to pass new rules before the start of the next administration, will make a huge push in ushering in new proposals. In preparation for this regulatory outburst, we have provided a brief guide explaining how proposed rules become regulations.

The "drop dead date" for federal regulations is fast approaching and we are expecting more overreaching proposals. This is the last date that proposed rules can be finalized by the Obama administration, without fear that the next President will overturn them under the Congressional Review Act. Regulatory agencies are expected to release a flood of regulations before this date. This regulatory outburst, first noted in the final days of the Carter Administration, is known as "midnight regulations."

Last week, President Obama marked the next step in his second term agenda in a speech about global warming and the EPA.

Will legislators ever learn? In the wake of Colorado’s strict new gun laws, gun manufacturers are, understandably, fleeing the state. When will they learn that excessive regulations create such hostile business climates that only succeed in hurting local economies?