Florida passes bill to end Disney’s special status amid LGBTQ education feud

Florida legislators passed a bill on Thursday that would revoke Walt Disney Co’s DIS.N self-governing status in a move widely seen as tit-for-tat for the company’s opposition to a new state law limiting discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools.

The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, who is all but guaranteed to sign it. The 70-to-38 vote by the Republican-led state House to do away with a special tax district that allows Disney to self-govern the roughly 25,000-acre Orlando area where its Disney World theme park complex is located comes a day after the state Senate passed the measure.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani; additional reporting by Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Leslie Adler)

by Reuters