DeSantis-Disney Brawl Moves to Florida’s State Legislature

The Florida legislature convened in a special session this week to address Disney’s special tax district, a major target of Governor DeSantis that has garnered him national headlines ahead of a potential presidential run.The Reedy Creek Improvement District — a near-autonomous, special tax district established 50 years ago for Disney in central Florida — allows the company to control construction, utilities, and real estate development with little oversight from the state government. A bill to change that status was introduced Monday as the legislature’s special session began. It would give Mr. DeSantis the power to appoint the district’s board of supervisors, which is now dominated by Disney’s hand-picked candidates. Currently, the board is selected under the principle of “one acre, one vote,” and because Disney owns the overwhelming majority of the land within Reedy Creek, its candidates run the board. None of the current members of Reedy Creek’s board of supervisors responded to requests for comment.Last year, Mr. DeSantis signed a bill that mandated the Reedy Creek Improvement District be dissolved by this summer, but did not specify a plan to do so. The concern among many legislators was that the surrounding counties — Orange and Osceola — would have to assume the special district’s $1 billion in debts. The new bill ensures that Disney would still be on the hook for those debts. Some Florida conservatives believe the legislation does not go far enough. A former state representative, Anthony Sabatini, has called for the complete abolition of Reedy Creek, which would raise taxes dramatically on Disney’s property. “So basically Woke Disney gets to keep its nearly tax-free, regulation-free status — but with a different Board,” he said in a tweet. “What a massive capitulation this is.” In a statement to the Sun, Mr. Sabatini said the Florida state legislature “is still controlled by Disney.”Democrats in the state legislature say Disney’s best hope for maintaining control of its special tax district is through litigation. A state senator, Jason Pizzo, said “Disney anticipates having to litigate on this issue — to sue — and hope to get a stay from the court to keep things status quo, and drag it out until DeSantis is gone.”At a press conference on Monday, the senate Democratic leader, Lauren Book, said Disney “spoke out about something they didn’t feel was right that the governor was doing, so he decided to punish them. It was a punishment.”Disney drew the ire of national conservatives after executives and employees at the company protested the passage of Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law last year, which restricts the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida’s elementary schools. Disney employees gathered outside of Disney World last year to protest Mr. DeSantis and the legislature. Mr. DeSantis, in turn, said that “if you are out protesting this bill, you are, by definition, putting yourself in favor of injecting sexual instruction to 5-, 6-, and 7-year old kids.”Many of the creatives at the company called for the resignation of Chief Executive Bob Chapek, saying he did not push back forcefully enough, according to CNBC. Mr. Chapek was later fired and replaced by his predecessor, Bob Iger. Mr. DeSantis was far ahead of the curve on the education issue, which has become increasingly salient as the 2024 presidential campaign gets under way. President Trump announced a key policy goal last week modeled after Mr. DeSantis’s fight for parental rights in education, which the former president called his “Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity.”“I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition,” he said in a video posted to Twitter.The former president’s embrace of these issues comes after Mr. DeSantis gained nationwide media attention during the fight with Disney last year. Fox News’s Laura Ingraham even traveled to Florida to host an hour-long town hall with the governor, during which he further embraced the fight with Disney and touted his support for parents’ rights.“You have a right to send your kid to kindergarten without having transgender ideology injected in the curriculum,” he said. Ms. Ingraham touted his leadership on the issue, saying he has “taken on the left more aggressively than any U.S. governor in modern memory,” adding that Americans are “flocking” to the state for “peace, freedom, and opportunity.”The president of Walt Disney World Resorts, Jeff Vahle, said in a statement that he is “monitoring” the bill as it moves through the legislature. “Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world, and regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit each year,” he said.

DeSantis-Disney Brawl Moves to Florida’s State Legislature

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