(Photo courtesy of The Walt Disney Company-Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc.)
A bill that would dissolve Walt Disney World’s 55-year-old self-government by June 2023 was given final passage April 21 by Florida’s Republican-controlled state House of Representatives.
The vote hands Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a victory in his feud with the entertainment conglomerate over its opposition to a bill that was dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law.
“Disney and other woke corporations won’t get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer,” the governor wrote in a fundraising pitch emailed release April 20. “If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now.”
The Associated Press noted that the bill passed by the House would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney self-government is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023. The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue to renegotiate its future. It now moves to DeSantis’ desk to be signed into law.
Florida lawmakers approved a bill to dissolve Walt Disney World’s private government, handing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a victory in his feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to a measure critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law. https://t.co/SZ5le4y3LY
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 21, 2022
Insidethemagic.com noted this situation over Disney’s self-government, while complex, seemed fairly cut-and-dry until reporters started to do the numbers and figure out what the termination of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act would actually mean for local taxpayers.
The termination of this act could transfer a whopping $2 billion worth of debt over to taxpayers, resulting in thousands of dollars in tax bills.
Florida Politics reported that Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando lashed out at Republicans for accusing Democrats of violating decorum, saying the Republicans were using the “full power of the state of Florida to enact retribution against their political opponents, namely Disney.”
“While some Republicans are out there crying that we violated decorum, they violated the Constitution of the state of Florida, they have trampled on the rights of everyday Floridians,” Smith said. “And that is why it was important for Democrats to take a stand today and I am proud of my colleagues for doing so.”
The controversial “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law will forbid discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in school classrooms for certain grade levels. It will also ban discussion on those two topics in any grade level if not deemed “age-appropriate,” although the law does not define what that means, and would allow a parent to sue a school district for violations. The law goes into effect July 1.
