By Kirk Carapezza A key House committee has given preliminary approval to a tax package that would raise roughly $26 million, putting it on a collision course with the governor because it includes provisions he opposes. Governor Peter Shumlin has said he does not want to raise broad-based taxes. The House Ways and Means Committee [...]

By Kirk Carapezza After weeks of studying Vermont’s prescription drug problem, House lawmakers on Thursday advanced a sweeping bill that would address opiate addiction and abuse. Rep. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, the lead sponsor of the bill, said even before this legislative session began, he repeatedly heard from law enforcement officials who urged the Legislature to [...]

By John Dillon Legislation that would have banned employers from accessing the social media accounts of their workers was watered down to a study of the issue by the Vermont Senate. The Senate on Thursday passed the measure on a unanimous voice vote. It sets up a study of existing social media privacy laws, as [...]

By John Dillon The House has given final approval to legislation that makes major changes to how the state taxes gasoline sales. The bill adds a 2 percent sales tax in addition to a tax on per gallon sales. That amounts to about an 8 percent tax increase. In 2014, the sales tax would be [...]

VPR Staff By a three-to-one margin, the Vermont House has given preliminary approval to a bill that would significantly change the way the state taxes the sale of gasoline. The bill moves away from the current per gallon tax and towards a sales tax on the price of gas. A final vote is expected on [...]

By Kirk Carapezza Lawmakers are spending most of their time this week on the House and Senate floor, debating a dizzying number of bills – from a gas tax to a social media bill. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee is finalizing a wide-ranging piece of legislation designed to strengthen Vermont’s response to prescription drug addiction. [...]

By Kirk Carapezza There’s a lot of arm-twisting going on in the halls of the Statehouse today, after the Senate delayed a much-anticipated, much-contested vote on a bill that would subject renewable energy projects to more regulation. For months, the bill has divided environmentalists over the role of Act 250, Vermont’s development control law. Even [...]

By Kirk Carapezza The Senate Transportation Committee expects to recommend a bill as early as Wednesday that would grant driver identification cards to Vermont residents who are in the country illegally. And committee members say they’re preparing to take a lot of heat for the bill. The measure would authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles [...]