Gov. Peter Shumlin wants the Legislature to approve a $90 million payroll tax on Vermont businesses. But lawmakers are reluctant, to say the least. And the governor’s proposal rests largely in the hands of an unconventional bureaucrat who will have to convince legislators that the money will be put to good use.

Al Gobeille is the chairman of the Green Mountain Care Board, and his five-person panel already has wide-ranging authority over the state’s health care system. But Peter Shumlin now wants to endow the group with even broader policy powers.

Large scale wind projects are the most cost-effective way for utilities to meet proposed new renewable energy requirements now being considered by the Legislature, according to Statehouse testimony.

Lawmakers are looking to revamp the state law that promotes the development of renewable energy. A bill backed by the Shumlin Administration would establish what’s called a renewable portfolio standard  – a legal requirement that 55 percent of a utility’s power mix come from renewable sources by 2017.

The Vermont House passed a bill Tuesday to ban microbeads in beauty products that have been found to cause harm to fish and other wildlife.

The House gave preliminary approval to H.4 with a unanimous voice vote. It was passed unanimously by the House Fish and Wildlife Committee on Friday.

The legislation, first brought to the attention of the House Fish and Wildlife Committee by Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset, has broad support across the political spectrum.

Vermonters do a pretty good job of filling their local food shelves with Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas cranberry sauce. But donations can take a sharp drop with the start of the New Year. The Lamoille Neighborhood Food Project aims to address such dips by making donating food as easy as putting an extra can in your cart.