The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, after he urged the Legislature to support it during its special session this week.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Florida House approved a bill on Thursday that would abolish the special district that allows the Walt Disney Company to self-govern its Orlando-area theme park, sending it to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signing.

During the special session this week, DeSantis, a Republican, urged the Legislature to support the bill. After a 23-16 vote in the Senate on Wednesday, House legislators passed the bill 68-38.

Disney’s special area would be abolished on June 1, 2023, per the proposal. A 1967 state statute established the district, which allows Disney to self-govern by collecting taxes and providing emergency services. Disney owns over 25,000 acres in the Orlando region, and the district allows the business to develop new facilities and pay impact fees without the permission of a local planning committee.

The effort to defund Disney’s district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, comes after DeSantis began attacking the company over its executives’ criticism of legislation he recently signed that prohibits kindergarten through third-grade classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.

DeSantis has said in recent weeks that he intends to repeal Disney’s legal safeguards, claiming that he “doesn’t support special legal rights just because a business is strong.”

In a 70-38 vote on Thursday, the House also adopted a Senate-passed bill that would remove Disney’s exemption from a 2021 ban on big tech censorship.