Mackenzie LaPorte

Tampa

Broadcast Journalist at WFLA-TV (Tampa, FL)

Broadcast Journalist at WTTA-TV (Tampa, FL)

KU Almuni ‘22

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Articles

They’re not finished: Lawmakers extend 2025 legislative session

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – State lawmakers made the final decision to extend the legislative session until June 6 right before the clock struck midnight on May 2nd, 2025. The session was supposed to end Friday, May 2, but the House and Senate have not reached a deal on a budget plan. Lawmakers will take the next week off to be back home in their districts, and then the budget conference will begin the week of May 12.
They’re not finished: Lawmakers extend 2025 legislative session

1 week ago | wfla.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – State lawmakers made the final decision to extend the legislative session until June 6 right before the clock struck midnight on May 2nd, 2025. The session was supposed to end Friday, May 2, but the House and Senate have not reached a deal on a budget plan. Lawmakers will take the next week off to be back home in their districts, and then the budget conference will begin the week of May 12.
What’s next for state lawmakers? Will they Sine Die?

1 week ago | wfla.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – Lawmakers in Tallahassee are wrapping up the 2025 legislative session. However, with no final budget in sight, the million-dollar question is, what comes next? The Senate and House failed to meet the 60-day deadline to pass a final budget. Now, lawmakers have the choice of breaking for a week and extending the session, or they can Sine Die today and come back this summer to pass a budget, which seems the likely choice at this time.
Florida Senate criticizes House for axing Rouson Mental Health Center

1 week ago | wfla.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WLFA) — End of session means tensions are high, especially on the Senate floor this week when lawmakers rallied behind State Senator Darryl Rouson (D- St. Petersburg) after the House removed a mental health research center that was supposed to be named after him. In less than a year, a commission for mental health and substance abuse took a deep dive into mental health systems in Florida. From that research, Senate Bill 1620 was created.
Families seek answers in FSU mass shooting investigation

2 weeks ago | wfla.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Families continued to mourn following the deadly mass shooting at Florida State University that killed two and injured six others. For the first time publicly, attorneys representing Tiru Chabba, one of the men killed on campus that day, are now speaking out. Civil rights Attorney Bakari Sellers alongside Jim Bannister and J. Robert Bell, said as the family mourns their loss, they are now trying to figure out what exactly happened.
Florida passes bill banning fluoride in water, now heads to governor

2 weeks ago | newsnationnow.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) - Florida lawmakers in both the House and Senate have passed what's being called the " Farm Bill." It takes up a number of issues, but one section is being debated the most: Should fluoride be in drinking water? And who gets to decide that? From Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the state's surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the trend of removing fluoride from drinking water has become a popular debate.
Florida passes bill banning fluoride in water, now heads to governor

2 weeks ago | snntv.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – Lawmakers in both the House and Senate passed what’s being called the “Farm Bill“. It takes up a number of issues, but one section is being debated on the most: Should fluoride be in drinking water? And who gets to decide that? From the Nation’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., all the way down to the state’s Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the trend to remove fluoride from drinking water has become a popular debate.
Florida passes bill banning fluoride in water, now heads to governor

2 weeks ago | wfla.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – Lawmakers in both the House and Senate passed what’s being called the “Farm Bill“. It takes up a number of issues, but one section is being debated on the most: Should fluoride be in drinking water? And who gets to decide that? From the Nation’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., all the way down to the state’s Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the trend to remove fluoride from drinking water has become a popular debate.
Bridge the gap: Florida budget negotiations stall as session nears end

2 weeks ago | wfla.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Time is ticking for state lawmakers in Tallahassee as they clash over budget negotiations. The 60-day legislative session was supposed to wrap Friday, May 2, but Senate and House leadership are struggling to agree on a budget. Before session even started, Senate President Ben Albritton, House Speaker Daniel Perez, and Governor Ron DeSantis presented a united front for the year ahead, after working out their differences during the immigration special session.
Florida House investigation into ‘Hope Florida’ ends

2 weeks ago | snntv.com | Mackenzie LaPorte

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) – Gov. Ron DeSantis showed his frustration with state lawmakers Thursday. DeSantis doesn’t like their investigation into the money trail that connects his wife’s non-profit “Hope Florida” to a political action committee. That PAC was used to fight the legalization of marijuana. House members have been following the money for about a month now, saying the state’s attorney general was calling the shots and illegally moving the cash around.