The Florida Senate on Wednesday passed a bill repealing a law that allows Walt Disney World to run a private government on its state property, escalating feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to what critics call a “don’t say gay” law. .
The proposal could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks over the decades have made Orlando one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. And Democrats have warned that the move could lead to local homeowners being hit with big tax bills if they have to take on Disney bond debt – although such details are far from clear.
The measures imposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis come as he battled Disney following the company’s criticism of a new GOP law banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as well as instructions that are not ” age-appropriate or developmental.
The bill will eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement area, as known by the Disney government, and a handful of other similar areas by June 2023. The measure leaves room for redevelopment, with Republican lawmakers signaling a likely 1967 deal restructuring. , which lawmakers have struck with the company, which allows it to provide services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure.
“If we do it so early, we have until next June or July to do it together, so we’re actually giving ourselves more time to think,” Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson told reporters after the vote. “I don’t know how the end will come, but I know that this is a very worthy process that we are undertaking, and I think that whatever comes out of it will be better than what we have today.”
Yet this move represents the latest blow in the cultural war harnessed by DeSantis as he runs for re-election and establishes himself as a potential Republican presidential candidate for 2024 through strong opposition to liberal policies on race, gender and abortion. .
“If Disney wants to choose a battle, they have chosen the wrong person,” DeSantis wrote in a fundraising email for Wednesday’s campaign. “As governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow an awakened California-based corporation to run our state.
Proponents of the “don’t say gay” bill are gathering outside of Disney World. Photo: Octavio Jones / Reuters
The Democrats, a minority party in the legislature, have spoken out against the proposal as clear revenge against a company that is a major economic driver in the state.
“Let’s call it what it is: it’s a punitive, irritable political payment to a corporation that dares to say the emperor has no clothes, but if they hold on to the next election cycle, we may reunite it,” said Sen. Gary. M. Farmer, Democrat.
Disney did not return an email requesting comment. The company is one of the largest private employers in Florida and last year said it has more than 60,000 employees in the state. It is not immediately clear exactly how Disney or neighboring governments would be affected if the area were disbanded.
The pressure to punish Disney came after it announced it would suspend political donations in the state and said it was committed to supporting organizations working against the state’s new law restricting sexual orientation or classroom gender identification training.
DeSantis and other Republicans have lashed out at Disney and other critics of the law, arguing that the policy is sensible and that parents, not teachers, should address similar issues with children.
The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement area and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida was a crucial element in the company’s plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. However, the city never materialized; instead it became an Epcot theme park.
The Florida House of Representatives is expected to consider the bill Thursday.
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