The drama surrounding Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might come to a head soon.

Reedy Creek

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Gov. DeSantis indicated that he is expecting the Florida legislature will hold a special session next week regarding the “proposed state takeover” of the RCID. Now, we have the confirmed date for this special session.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that “the Florida Legislature will convene a special session Monday to consider a state takeover of Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.” Come Monday, February 6th, we could see some major updates to the plans for Reedy Creek.

©Spectrum News 13

DeSantis hasn’t yet filed a bill with proposed plans for RCID, but he has stated recently that a bill that will give the state of Florida control over the RCID is in the works. At a news conference in Tallahassee DeSantis said, “We’re not going to have a corporation controlling its own government…That’s going to be reverted to the state. I’d rather it be the local [governments], but I don’t think that they’re prepared for it. So the state is going to have a board to run it.”

The reorganization of RCID is going to be filed as a local bill in the Florida House of Representatives and “presented in Senate committees by Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ©Deadline

This legislation could tackle various changes to the District, including the following:

• removing and revising powers of the District
• increasing state oversight, accountability, and transparency of the District
• revising the selection process, membership qualifications, and compensation for the governing body of the District
• ensuring debts and bond obligations held by the District remain with the District and are not transferred to other governments by retaining the District’s authority related to indebtedness and taxation
• revising the District’s authority over local permitting and regulation
• revising the District’s regulatory framework and structure

A few legislators have spoken up about what the bill might look like. The Sentinel reported that “State Rep. Anna Eskamani said she suspects Disney struck a deal that will put the state in charge of Reedy Creek but will leave intact the corporate tax loopholes and other benefits the corporation receives under Florida law. That will allow Disney to resume its political giving before the regular legislative session starts next month, she said.” Eskamani says that DeSantis would appoint people to “ensure Disney behaves,” which would essentially be like “putting chaperones” over the company.

Gov. DeSantis’ communications director previously said, “The corporate kingdom has come to an end…Under the proposed legislation, Disney will no longer control its own government, will live under the same laws as everyone else, will be responsible for their outstanding debts, and will pay their fair share of taxes. Imposing a state-controlled board will also ensure that Orange County cannot use this issue as a pretext to raise taxes on Orange County residents.”

©Fox10 News | Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

The biggest change we could see is that Disney may not control its own government in the future. Experts have speculated that the RCID might remain essentially as they are now, with minimal changes that would affect Disney’s current power, but the bill that DeSantis has proposed would mean a much more drastic change.

Reedy Creek Trash Cans

We’ll continue to watch for more updates, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest news.

There might be a LOOPHOLE for Disney to resolve Reedy Creek problems — Click Here.

What do you think will happen with Disney’s Reedy Creek district? Let us know in the comments.