Jim Turner/News Service of Florida

Walt Disney Company on Thursday scrapped plans to build a nearly $1 billion office complex and relocate 2,000 California-based cast members to Florida.The move comes after Disney earlier this year announced reorganization plans to cut costs by $5.5 billion, including $3 billion related to content spending, while the entertainment giant faces a growing legal and ideological clash with Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida lawmakers this month passed a record $117 billion budget that covers more than 500 pages and includes high-profile issues such as money for schools, health care, environmental projects and road construction.But also tucked inside the spending plan are more than 1,500 projects pushed by individual lawmakers and fine print that details how tax dollars must be used. The budget, which will take effect July 1, still needs approval from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has line-item veto power.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said Florida “stands ready” and will send Florida National Guard troops and law-enforcement officers to Texas to help with border control as he nears an expected announcement of a White House bid.DeSantis’ office said in a news release Tuesday afternoon that 800 members of the Florida National Guard, along with Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were available and ready to deploy within 24 hours.

Production numbers for Florida’s orange crop continue to decline as the citrus industry’s storm-battered season nears an end.The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday issued a forecast that said Florida growers this season are on pace to fill 15.65 million boxes of oranges, which would be the lowest total since the 1934-1935 season. The new forecast also was down from an April projection of 16.1 million boxes.

Projects in the state budget for Lee County included $51.67 million for Sanibel Causeway corridor repairs where Ian made initial landfall, $12.4 million for repairs in the Matlacha corridor and $6 million for studies on the Big Hickory Pass, Little Carlos Pass and New Pass bridges.

A board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee Walt Disney Co. property called Monday for pursuing a lawsuit to counter litigation that the entertainment giant filed last week against the state.

The House bill (HB 7063) would offer shoppers a series of expanded sales-tax “holidays” on back-to-school items, hurricane-preparedness supplies, summer activities and tool purchases. As an example, the state would offer two back-to-school holidays, after offering one in the past.

Disney’s iconic monorail system would face periodic state inspections, as Republican lawmakers continue to back Gov. Ron DeSantis in his clash with the entertainment giant.Voting along party lines, the Republican-controlled Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday amended a transportation bill (SB 1250) to apply Department of Transportation safety standards to monorail lines that connect Walt Disney World resorts and parks.

A Senate committee Tuesday moved forward with a package that would provide $973 million in tax breaks next fiscal year, with proposals ranging from holding tax “holidays” to boosting the thoroughbred horse-racing industry.The Finance and Tax Committee unanimously backed the package (SPB 7062), which is ready to go to the full Senate. The House has proposed a $1.38 billion package, and legislative leaders will negotiate a final tax plan as part of upcoming budget talks.

The House Ways & Means Committee late Wednesday unanimously approved its package (PCB WMC 23-02), which includes such things as sales-tax “holidays” and cutting a commercial-lease tax that businesses have long criticized. Some parts of the House package mirror requests by Gov. Ron DeSantis, such as holding a series of tax holidays and providing sales-tax exemptions on products for babies and toddlers.