Vermont Legislature

Proponents of wind energy say they're worried that a state-funded research project will be used to misguide Vermonters about the health effects of turbine noise.

The high cost of child care poses a serious financial challenge for many families in Vermont. Next year, lawmakers are going to decide whether government should do more to help parents pay for it. 

A new study shows millions of pounds of produce go uneaten in Vermont every year and yet nearly 80,000 Vermonters are living in food-insecure households. Volunteers, legislators and farmers are trying to find ways to bridge the gap between unused food and people experiencing hunger.

The Attorney General's office and the Vermont Human Rights Commission have launched a public education campaign to alert consumers and businesses about the existence of gender-based pricing for goods and services in the state.

Vermont lawmakers are about to spend $250,000 on an independent study of the state’s online health insurance marketplace, and legislative leaders say the assessment will help determine the fate of Vermont Health Connect.

Hillary Clinton appears to have clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. But in a speech last Thursday, Bernie Sanders called on his supporters to take his political revolution to the local level. And the founders of a new political action committee in Vermont say they intend to do just that. 

State senator Norm McAllister's rape trial ended abruptly this morning as prosecutors dismissed two counts of sexual assault against him.

The methods used by stalkers to harass and intimidate their victims have evolved over the years. Vermont’s criminal statutes have not. That’s about to change, and new legislation will strengthen legal protections for victims of stalking.

There was partisan bickering. There was procedural gamesmanship. And finally, after 11 long hours in the Statehouse, there was a policy resolution in Montpelier on Thursday. 

Democratic lawmakers are scrambling to resuscitate the renewable-energy siting bill that was vetoed by Governor Peter Shumlin on Monday. But the Republicans whose help they’ll need to rescue the legislation are not going along with the plan. 

Gov. Peter Shumlin has vetoed legislation that would give towns an opportunity to have more say in the renewable energy siting process. And while Shumlin says he’s ready to work with lawmakers to salvage key aspects of the bill, Republican legislators are not in a mood to bargain.

Vermont’s state college system got its first funding increase in nearly a decade this past legislative session. But the one-time appropriation won’t solve the institutions’ long-term money problems, and the colleges are running out of places to cut costs.

During the current presidential campaign, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has received more individual contributions than any other person in the history of American politics.

And at the same time that Sanders campaigns tirelessly to win the party's nomination, he's also used his fundraising abilities to help local and state candidates across the country.

When the new governor takes office in January, he or she will be given a new, independent analysis concerning the future of Vermont Health Connect, the state's health care web site.

Hopes for single-payer health care in Vermont were sidelined at the end of 2014, but lawmakers haven’t given up on the concept of publicly-financed medical system. And a coming study could lay the groundwork for universal care for all Vermonters under the age of 27.