Things at Disney World could be CHANGING in a big way.
The Walt Disney World main gate
A bill that will dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District (“RCID”) has passed the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, and been signed by the Florida Governor. The RCID is a special district that has allowed Disney World to essentially act as its own county and have a great deal of control over the land on which it operates in Orlando. There have been some, however, who have argued that there might be some MAJOR roadblocks that could stand in Florida’s way of dissolving the RCID. What if the RCID does get dissolved, though? What could happen next? Well some Florida lawmakers are chiming in with their thoughts.
According to ClickOrlando.com, powered by News 6, various democratic lawmakers from the state of Florida held a press conference on Monday, May 2nd. Namely, state Senator Linda Stewart (District 13, which consists of part of Orange County), state Senator Randolph Bracy (District 11, which consists of part of Orange County), and state Senator Victor Torres (District 15, which consists of Osceola County and part of Orange County) held a special press conference this morning.
ClickOrlando.com notes that all 3 state senators “criticized the law saying it was done in retribution for the parental rights in education law, it was done in haste without a proper economic analysis, and it could leave residents in Orange and Osceola counties on the hook for well over a billion dollars in the district’s bond debt.”
State Senators During Press Conference | Obtained via Video Posted by WESH 2 News
According to WESH 2 News, Senator Stewart said “There was no study done on the consequences of dissolving the district, we weren’t given much notice to look into all the ramification…An analysis stated there will be an indeterminate fiscal impact on residents, businesses and local general-purpose governments.”
WESH 2 News reports, “Sen. Randolph Bracy stated that even the discussion of creating a new district shows how ‘hare-brained’ the entire ordeal has been.”
Senator Torres shared, “When was the last time you heard a Republican governor bragging about raising taxes on one of thee the largest private companies in the state and saying government has a right to punish government for private business decisions?…Disney is not the one being punished by this bill. The workers and taxpayers are.”
State Senators During Press Conference | Obtained via Video Posted by WESH 2 News
ClickOrlando.com notes that there are statutes the law doesn’t take into account, such as whether the population of the RCID would vote to dissolve the RCID.
Senator Stewart shared that the lawmakers have heard “some rumblings” about how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to deal with some of these problems.
According to Senator Stewart, “The governor will establish a new district, that’s our latest word, under the general purpose government controlled by the governor with appointments by the governor…Therefore the debt will be paid, if this were the case, by the state of Florida, for over a billion dollars.”
Note that this is not confirmed but appears to be the “latest word” Senator Stewart has heard regarding potential next steps.
Senator Stewart During Press Conference | Obtained via Video Posted by WESH 2 News
Stewart shared, “There are legal minds on all sides working to figure out what can be done legally…This has not been well-thought-out.” (WESH 2 News)
As ClickOrlando.com shares, it has not been explained how this new district would work, or whether Orange County and Osceola County would still be “on the hook” for any portion of RCID’s finances or the maintenance of the RCID’s services.
Senator Stewart During Press Conference | Obtained via Video Posted by WESH 2 News
Governor DeSantis has recently indicated that there are plans in the works in terms of how to address some of these issues. As we noted previously, according to Governor DeSantis’ office, “In the near future, we will propose additional legislation to authorize additional special districts in a manner that ensures transparency and an even playing field under the law.” (WESH 2 News)
DeSantis has also said, “Under no circumstances will Disney not pay its debts,” but he has not specified how that will happen. (Miami Herald)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ©Deadline
According to WESH 2 News, DeSantis previously indicated, “I am not comfortable having one company with their own government and special privileges when that company has pledged itself to attacking the parents in my state…Do what you did great. That’s why people love the company, and you’ve lost your way. Maybe this will be the wake-up call that they need to get back on track.”
He has also previously said that more legislation would be proposed to ensure that there wouldn’t be increases in tax for local residents due to the law that would dissolve the RCID.
©Fox10 News | Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
As we previously shared, the RCID Board of Supervisors recently met for the first time following the passage of the law that will repeal the RCID. According to WESH 2 News, the President of the RCID’s governing board only said that they’re “assessing everything” when it comes to the RCID’s future.
RCID Board member, Don Greer, said “It will be a while before anybody knows what we’re dealing with,” and indicated that what happens next is ultimately up to the state of Florida. (WESH 2 News)
Reedy Creek Sign in Disney World
This is a developing situation. We’ll continue to look for updates and share those with you.
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m.flsenate.gov/Statutes/189.072
Specifically 2a and 2b. There has to be a vote on whether the resident electors (Reedy Creek) approve the dissolution. I would hazard guess the owners of Reedy Creek would vote no. Apparently someone did not do their homework prior to speed walking this bill.
The State may have opened up a can of worms with this one. Lets all face it, Disney has done a remarkable job of improving the central Florida region to benefit everyone, young and old both inside and outside of the Disney owned property and the Reedy Creek Improvement district. Leave it alone, it has worked well for everyone for 50 years. Keep in mind, as a well know rule of thumb, “Everything the Government touches will cost you more that the free market”, and you can bank on that. Taxes, Tolls, Fees, and everything else will go up in price and who will pay, the residents. Stay out of Disney, let the government do what they do best which is nothing, except increase the cost of everything including taxes.
Love Disney
How can you even have a “level playing field” when all 1,800+ districts were negotiated individually?
How do you even do that? “Level playing field” to me means everyone gets the same deal. Every situation though is different enough to have to be negotiated individually.
Same deal vs. specific needs. How do you do both? . . . Answer? . . . You can’t.
Changing the rules for the future, and applying them retroactively, tells businesses that they can’t count on any deal they have with the government, that was negotiated to bring that company into their state in the first place. “Great. You’ve invested billions in our state. So much that you are actually stuck here. Cool. Now give us all of the utilities and public service infrastructure you bought and paid for, while you continue to pay your taxes.”
Looks like DeSantis saying “Disney will pay their debts” mimics his idol saying “Mexico will pay for the wall.” And how did that work out.