Items published in the Federal Register on October 26–27, 2026, as reported by the Spicy Regs dataset and the Federal Register notices.

Health and finance proposals

HHS proposes Exchange pre-eligibility verification requirements. The Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule implementing new requirements from the Working Families Tax Cut legislation on Exchange eligibility and verification under the Affordable Care Act. It also updates provisions on inconsistency periods, inconsistency verification procedures, and annual eligibility redeterminations. Comments are due November 27, 2026. Federal Register notice.

Treasury proposes outbound investment regulations. The Treasury Department's proposed rule would implement Subtitle C of the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act (Title VIII of the Defense Production Act). It would require U.S. persons to notify Treasury of certain transactions. Comments are due December 7, 2026. Federal Register notice.

Transportation

PHMSA proposes hazardous materials updates. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration proposed updating the Hazardous Materials Regulations to adopt certain international standards. These cover proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limits, and vessel stowage. Comments are due December 28, 2026. Federal Register notice.

Justice Department final rules

NICS background checks for firearm handlers. The Department of Justice amended its National Instant Criminal Background Check System regulations under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022. Federal Firearm Licensees may now use NICS to voluntarily conduct employment-related background checks of firearm handlers. The rule takes effect November 27, 2026. Federal Register notice.

HAVANA Act implementation. DOJ finalized its April 2024 interim final rule implementing the HAVANA Act of 2021, which authorizes agency heads to make payments to certain individuals with qualifying brain injuries. DOJ says it received no comments on the interim rule. The final rule takes effect November 27, 2026. Federal Register notice.

Why it matters

Proposed rules open a public comment window, and agencies weigh the comments they receive before finalizing. The two DOJ rules are final and have set effective dates. Comments on open proposals can be submitted through regulations.gov.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 noreply@anthropic.com Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01GyFqdafthkUKCJvNMBrLMj