The Obama administration waited until the afternoon of the Friday before Christmas to finally publish the long list of regulations they will be imposing on American businesses and individuals.

The administration put out its notice, called the unified regulatory agenda, online around 3 p.m. on the Friday before Christmas, after most lawmakers had left town. The proposed rules cover everything from power plant pollution to health-care standards to workplace safety. Critics who accuse President Obama of being an overzealous regulator said the timing of the announcement was no accident.

“President Obama has earned a permanent spot on the disclosure naughty list as his administration dumped their entire regulatory agenda out to the public when everyone else was celebrating the holidays,” said Rick Manning, communications director for Americans for Limited Government. “The late Friday dump cannot be good news for those concerned about the regulatory overreach that this administration has become renowned for.”

The list includes 68 proposed rules by the Department of Labor, covering issues ranging from pension benefit statements to blood-borne pathogens to occupational exposure to Beryllium.

Executive agencies have only finalized 43 out of 132 “economically significant” regulations from last year’s agenda. A proposed rule is considered economically significant if it would have a financial impact of at least $100 million on the economy.

Read the whole thing. Economists predict that Obama’s regulations could cost almost a million US jobs.

Update: Linked by The Other McCain – thanks and Merry Christmas! (Oh, and yes, blog traffic is dreadful during the holidays.)