Regulatory Impact
Total Regulatory Restrictions
420,434
California has the most regulatory restrictions of any state, according to the Mercatus Center's State RegData analysis. These restrictions are instances of the words and phrases "shall," "must," "may not," "prohibited," and "required" in the California Code of Regulations.
Annual Compliance Cost
$134 Billion
Estimated annual cost of regulatory compliance for California businesses, according to studies from the California Business Roundtable and other sources.
Words in Regulatory Code
21.2 Million
The California Code of Regulations contains 21.2 million words. It would take an individual about 1,176 hours—or more than 29 weeks—to read the entire code, assuming 40 hours per week at 300 words per minute.
Per-Employee Cost
$39,200
Average per-employee cost of regulations for California manufacturers, which is higher than the national average of $29,100 per employee according to NAM research.
Laws and Regulations Created by Year (2010-2024)
The chart below shows the number of new laws enacted and regulations created in California each year, along with the total regulatory restrictions.
| Year | Total Laws Enacted | New Regulations | Total Regulatory Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 733 | N/A | N/A |
| 2011 | 744 | N/A | N/A |
| 2012 | 876 | N/A | N/A |
| 2013 | 800 | N/A | N/A |
| 2014 | 931 | N/A | N/A |
| 2015 | 807 | N/A | N/A |
| 2016 | 893 | N/A | N/A |
| 2017 | 859 | N/A | N/A |
| 2018 | 1,016 | N/A | N/A |
| 2019 | 870 | N/A | 395,129 |
| 2020 | 372 | 871 | 396,000 |
| 2021 | 770 | N/A | N/A |
| 2022 | 997 | 7,774 | 403,774 |
| 2023 | 890 | 16,660 | 420,434 |
| 2024 | 1,017 | N/A | N/A |
Note: Law data sourced from California Globe and UC San Diego Government Information. Regulatory restriction estimates based on growth trends from Mercatus Center data.
Regulations by Agency Group
California's regulatory burden is distributed across various state agencies and departments. The chart below shows the distribution of regulatory restrictions by agency group.
| Agency Group | Regulatory Restrictions | Word Count | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government Operations Agency | 28,742 | 1,542,318 | 7.3% |
| Health and Human Services | 87,631 | 4,712,546 | 22.2% |
| Labor and Workforce Development | 51,139 | 2,751,428 | 12.9% |
| Natural Resources | 42,873 | 2,307,521 | 10.9% |
| Environmental Protection | 38,215 | 2,056,317 | 9.7% |
| Business, Consumer Services and Housing | 75,712 | 4,074,631 | 19.2% |
| Transportation | 32,418 | 1,744,752 | 8.2% |
| Corrections and Rehabilitation | 18,742 | 1,008,521 | 4.7% |
| Other Agencies and Departments | 19,657 | 1,057,428 | 5.0% |
Sources
The information presented on this page is compiled from the following publicly available sources:
- California Globe: Summary of California Bills Per Session and Actions Taken
- Mercatus Center: Snapshot of California Regulation in 2019
- Mercatus Center: Quantifying Regulation in US States - State RegData 2.0
- Commonwealth Foundation: Cutting Red Tape in PA
- Mercatus Center: California Regulatory Snapshot
- Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice: California Law Enforcement Agencies Are Spending More But Solving Fewer Crimes
- UC San Diego Library: California Government Information - Legislative
- Competitive Enterprise Institute: Ten Thousand Commandments Report
- National Association of Manufacturers: Cost of Regulations Study
- Clean Water SoCal: Cost of Regulation Study
- YCharts: California Labor Force Data
- Open Data Initiative: Regulations
Last updated: March 2025