Things just got more complicated for Disney’s old Reedy Creek Improvement District (now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District).
The District has been a big topic in the news lately after the new Board of Supervisors discovered an agreement made between Disney and the old Board that gave Disney a significant amount of power in the District for a long time. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened actions against Disney to combat this, and now he’s outlined his plan of attack.
On April 17th, DeSantis held a press conference at the Reedy Creek Administration Building which was streamed live by ClickOrlando. DeSantis began the conference by saying “We have a government of laws…not a government of men, and that includes the law being superior to big corporations, even corporations as big and powerful as Walt Disney Company. They are not superior to the laws that are enacted by the people of the state of Florida.”
DeSantis indicated that the idea of a corporation having its “own government” was something they determined was no longer in the best interest of the state of Florida, which is why they ultimately put a state-controlled board over the District. He shared that this was done to ensure accountability and make sure the debts would be paid by Disney, without increasing local residents’ taxes.
According to DeSantis, while that was happening Disney made special deals to “circumvent” the process. He said that the agreements Disney made with the prior Board (because the prior Board was essentially put in place by Disney) were a “legal fiction” that gave Disney the power to continue controlling things. DeSantis said that this was in direct defiance of the will of the people of Florida. He continued, “That’s not gonna work. That’s not gonna fly.”
Meanwhile, Disney has defended their agreements as having been properly agreed to and noticed. So here’s what DeSantis plans to do and what he expects the new Board of Supervisors will do next.
Actions by the Board
First, DeSantis argued the agreements Disney entered into with the prior Board have a “plethora of legal infirmities” that render them void. He said that he anticipates the Board will find that as well and will “take the Board out of those agreements.”
According to DeSantis, there are alleged issues with the agreements when it comes to providing notice, self-dealing, and consideration. He said there will likely be a legal briefing at the Board’s meeting and he anticipates the Board will find that the agreements between Disney and the old Board were not valid.
DeSantis also indicated that at the Board’s next meeting (which is on Wednesday, April 19th) he expects they’ll tackle a lot of issues. One thing DeSantis expects is that the Board will look at some of the infrastructure to see whether it might be better to sell some of the utilities to a private entity that could operate things more efficiently.
He also said the Board may be looking at pay increases for first responders in the District.
DeSantis also discussed how some people were frustrated by the mask rules at Disney during COVID-19. He said that he thinks the District would be within its right to say that anyone who’s a patron of any business within the District can be there mask-free. Making changes to the mask rules is something previously alluded to by one of the new Board members.
DeSantis also discussed potential action that would make it clear that there’s a zero-tolerance policy for human trafficking within the District.
He also said the Board may look at the value of the property within the District. He discussed how the appraisal of the property Disney owns within the District could be changed so that there’s a “more honest assessment.”
According to Deadline, a person familiar with the matter has said that Disney does not assess its own property, as DeSantis indicated, but instead that this is done by the Orange County or Osceola County tax assessor. We have seen instances in the past where Disney has gone to court over certain property assessments made by the Orange County Property Appraiser.
When it comes to the debt of the District, DeSantis also said they’re looking to get that debt paid off as quickly as possible, so they may take steps to accelerate the debt payment. Current outstanding debts are in the amount of around $1 billion.
DeSantis also discussed the Board potentially looking at what role they can play in ensuring more workforce housing. Disney did announce a project to build more affordable housing in Orlando already.
Overall, he said the Board’s actions are all about making sure that Disney is following the law, paying taxes, and paying its debts.
Actions by the Legislature
Even if the Board’s actions don’t work (and because they could lead to litigation), DeSantis indicated that there is a Florida law — Chapter 163 Section 3241 — that provides the legislature with the ability to revoke development agreements under certain circumstances.
The Florida law he is referring to is called “Modification or revocation of a development agreement to comply with subsequently enacted state and federal law” and it indicates as follows: “If state or federal laws are enacted after the execution of a development agreement which are applicable to and preclude the parties’ compliance with the terms of a development agreement, such agreement shall be modified or revoked as is necessary to comply with the relevant state or federal laws.”
According to DeSantis, he has worked with leaders of the Florida House and Senate and there is a bill that will be put out in the Florida legislature that will “make sure” that the agreements entered into by Disney and prior Board are “revoked” and that the “people’s will is established and is upheld.”
DeSantis went on to say that having a corporation serving as their own government isn’t good government, and that Florida is now in a different era than it was when Reedy Creek was first established. He said that there are a lot of competitors now that are treated differently and they want to “make sure that Disney lives under the same laws as everybody else.”
Representative Fred Hawkins (Florida House) spoke and said that Disney made an 11th-hour deal in the “middle” of the night with these agreements between it and the Board, even though it has been noted previously that Disney did notice their actions, the agreements were placed in agendas that individuals could see, and they were approved in a public meeting). Hawkins said “Disney acted in only their favor, and not of the people. The legislature is appalled by this action.”
He said that we’ll hear updates in the days to come about what the Legislature will be doing to prevent anything further from happening.
Blaise Ingoglia (Florida Senate) also spoke and said that in his view it was “unconscionable that one corporation would hold that much power.” He directed some words to Disney: “You are not going to win this fight, this Governor will.”
His advice to Disney? He said “just let it go,” apparently making a Frozen reference.
According to DeSantis, we’ll see an update about this proposed bill within the next week or so. He shared that they are just going to have to keep “fighting back” and that they’ll continue to do so.
Land the District Owns
While much of the land within the District is owned by Disney, there appears to be some land owned by the District that Disney does not own. DeSantis admitted that he wasn’t even thinking about that other land when this issue was initially being addressed (in terms of the laws changing Reedy Creek) but now people have been asking what they could do with that other land.
DeSantis said people have indicated “Maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks…maybe you need another state prison.”
DeSantis said that land and its potential future use will now be analyzed to “see what makes the most sense.”
State Inspections
DeSantis also discussed inspection exemptions. He said that once the state board took over, they started to “mobilize state agencies to ensure that Disney’s following the same rules” when it comes to building inspections and safety.
One change DeSantis appears to have suggested is that the Commissioner of Agriculture would take a bigger role in terms of inspecting things at Disney World. DeSantis specifically mentioned the monorail and making sure that it is subject to oversight for inspections.
According to the Orlando Business Journal, “Current Florida law says ‘permanent facilities that employ at least 1,000 full-time employees and that maintain full-time, in-house safety inspectors‘ were exempt from state inspections.” This change would “nullify that for Disney.”
During the conference, Commissioner Wilton Simpson spoke about what this could mean for Disney. Simpson is the Commissioner of Agriculture, which also oversees some matters relating to consumer protection. He noted how his department conducts inspections when someone is seriously injured on an amusement ride except at large theme parks in Florida.
He said that this new legislation would allow his department to “conduct inspections when someone is seriously injured on an amusement ride,” indicating that they have a duty “to inspect and decide whether a ride can safely reopen.”
He continued, “where a person is injured should not determine how the state responds. Everyone should have to play by the same rules.”
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, there is a general exemption granted to all major theme parks in the state (which includes Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Legoland, as well as Disney) for ride inspections. Yet DeSantis has seemingly suggested that only Disney may be affected by these changes.
When asked how this rule change would play out, DeSantis said that he thinks this would be established through legislation that would require inspections for all amusement parks within special districts.
Disney’s “Woke Agenda”
During the meeting, Representative Carolina Amesty (Florida House of Representatives) also spoke about how in Florida it is “we the people, not woke corporations.”
She went on to say, “We all love Disney, however, you cannot indoctrinate our children.” She said that Disney has been turned into a Company that wants to indoctrinate children on “radical gender ideologies.” This seems to be tied to arguments some have made that this is all being done in retribution for Disney’s statements against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act.
Amesty said that Disney thinks the rules don’t apply to them. She continued, “I have news for the woke administration at Disney…this is not California, this is the free state of Florida…you do not get to indoctrinate our kids or write your own rules.”
She went on to use the Governor’s catchphrase, that Florida is where “woke goes to die.”
And There’s More
DeSantis also discussed how there is an inspection by the inspector general going on and if there’s any kind of criminal fraud that will be pursued.
In terms of potentially tolling the roads to Disney, he said that he believes the District has enough power to do what they need to do to ensure there’s adequate revenue to extinguish the debt of Reedy Creek. He said that the old District had the ability to do toll roads but that power was removed when the updates to the District were made. He seemed to indicate that the legislature wasn’t necessarily looking at imposing those taxes but “arming” the District with the powers it needed to take further action if desired.
That is a LOT to take in. We’ll be on the lookout for updates as the Board’s meeting approaches and let you know what we find.
Click here to see Iger’s response to some of the Reedy Creek drama
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DeSantis is one big joke. I have a hard time understanding how anyone can take this tool seriously.
At what point does Disney clap back with a lawsuit? This is a case of clear retaliation.
If the present Governor DeSantis can take over Disney because he is mad .
He can take any property from anyone.
Florida doesn’t want to take over Disney.
FLORIDA ALSO ISN’T A FREE STATE
since DeSantis started his march against the people of Florida.
This will be so great when Disney’s lawyers absolutely destroy these fools.
“DeSantis went on to say that having a corporation serving as their own government isn’t good government”
So what about all the other 1,800 special districts in Florida? Disney is not the only corporation with a special district in Florida, so why just Disney? It now seems it is just pure harassment by the little Dictator on Disney.
This is not about “They are not superior to the laws that are enacted by the people of the state of Florida.” It was NOT enacted by the people, NOT voted on by the people, and if Governor De-santumonious poled the constituents he’d find that HE created this LAW for REVENGE purposes ONLY
J asked “At what point does Disney clap back with a lawsuit? This is a case of clear retaliation.”
Being that none of those proposed actions against Disney besides setting up the ‘new’ Reedy Creek Tourism Board has happened, Disney doesn’t yet have any SPECIFIC actions to sue about.
DeSantis has made a lot of noise about what he WANTS to do, but until he actually DOES something that negatively affects WDW, they don’t have any basis to file suit.
I suspect that Disney Legal has lawsuits pending investigation into the legal and Constitutional framework around how and why the DeSantis misadministration dissolved the Reedy Creek Development District, but they wouldn’t file it until they are sure of their status.
You need to stick the things that people need take away entertainment like that that people have enjoyed for years is foolish I hope you don’t get voted in again
I would be interested in hearing from actual Florida taxpayers to get their opinion on what DeSantis is doing.
All of this just keeps making me sick to my stomach. I keep wondering “does Disney have another play up their sleeve?” Please just let Disney win (because DeSantis is an idiot) so I can sleep at night.
I’m a conservative, but DeSantis isn’t acting like a conservative, he’s acting like a bully and an authoritarian. How is attacking the largest employer in your state being conservative, especially when they are posed to invest another $10 billion plus over the next decade?
DeSantis continues to say he is taking these actions because of the will of the people of Florida. Maybe if he keeps saying it, he believes It? This has nothing to do with the people of Florida. It’s about nothing other than him pounding his chest. Perhaps he needs reminded that central Florida would be a fraction of what it is without Disney arriving in the 1960s. I think the people of Florida would prefer for him not to waste time and state resources on this topic.
I hope every company or organization that holds conferences opts for locations other than Florida. DeSantis needs to experience real financial pain resulting from his on-going actions. Sadly he’s the type of monster who never will see the mistakes he’s made. Garbage = DeSantis.
ABSOLUTELY INSANE. PRISON NEAR A THEME PARK? DOES HE THINK HE WILL GAIN SUPPORTERS FOR HIS PLAN TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT? WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE COME FROM? DISNEY BRINGS IN HOW UCH REVENUE TO FLORIDA EVERY YEAR AND HE WANTS TO CONTINUE TO MAKE THIS A DAILY INVESTIGATION. HOW MUCH IS THIS COSTING FLORIDA TAXPAYERS? BACK OFF DESANTIS AND LET DISNEY BE DISNEY AND STICK TO
OTHER ISSUES THE STATE HAS
This is what it looks like when power goes to the head of someone with a very fragile ego. Much of what DeSantis said is probably not even accurate and was said to make him look important and in charge. I’m not really sure what ‘woke’ means, but if it means being in touch with the times, then I guess I’m woke.
It’s a shame for the state of Florida and also Disney that it has to be like this. I’m not concerned about Disney because I’m sure they have an efficient legal team. Floridians, who foot the bills for the state, have no such team to represent them. What a waste of time and money.
Pure harassment and they know that you can’t pick up a whole park and move it . It is sad to see a governor harass a company that brought so much to Florida because he is a baby and didn’t allow free speech. In other words we don’t want companies who don’t follow like sheep
I wish DeSantis could read these replies that have been written here on DFB. I’m a Floridian and he embarasses and angers me. This has totally gotten out of control now. He wants to be Florida’s DICTATOR not a governor, and don’t dare criticise this guy or he will retaliate against you just like he is doing to Disney. I thought that governors were supposed to do good things for their state not try to get even with the best thing that has happened to Florida. Disney put Florida on the map! He had better be careful that Disney doesn’t decide to up and leave. Texas has already offered to welcome Disney to their state!
“Free state of Florida”??? What a joke. You’re only free if you agree with their backwards ideology.
As an actual Florida taxpayer I can say that there are many other problems we are facing here. This all came about because a corporation had the temerity to question the actions of Mr. DeSantis (as many of us have on that topic) and withhold money from Politicians in Florida. So far I would like to know how much taxpayer money has gone into the many lawsuits the Governor has going, who is paying for his constant trips to other states campaigning when he hasn’t made his announcement (and used his own campaign money for his non-campaign, campaign) and where all of the relief from higher rents, insurance policies (had a special session for that one…but no relief for those of us who are facing these rate rises) and those people who still can not go home due to flooding from Ian to present storms. He seems to think his focus should be on fighting with Disney and disenfranchising any one who doesn’t think like he does (and his supporters). Florida freedom means you must think like a certain group of people and if you don’t look out. you will be vilified and punished.