The past few weeks have been full of updates regarding what critics call Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. We’ve seen Disney issue statements, former Disney executives speak up about the issue, and more.

Another specific thing we’ve seen is how legislators and governors have responded to Disney’s statements. California Governor Gavin Newsom has made comments to Disney via Twitter, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also spoken out in response to Disney’s actions. Recently we shared how some legislators have been meeting to potentially recall an act that is key to how Disney operates in Florida. And now Governor DeSantis has commented on this issue.

As a source of background, after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, Disney issued a statement indicating that the bill never should have been passed or signed into law, and that their goal would be for the bill (now law) to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.

Governor DeSantis responded, saying that Disney’s comments about working to repeal the law have “crossed a line.”

We recently shared that Spencer Roach, a Republican Representative in Florida’s House of Representatives (representing District 79) posted a Tweet about Disney, the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, and what actions some legislators have been considering.

Representative Roach said that some Florida legislators recently had 2 meetings (in one week) to discuss the repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act. This act essentially allows Disney to act as its own government in Florida. Roach said “If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.”

Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County. pic.twitter.com/6sj29Gj6Wz

— SpencerRoach (@SpencerRoachFL) March 30, 2022

 

For a more in-depth discussion regarding the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), click here. In essence, as we mentioned above, the RCID is essential to how Disney operates. The RCID basically has jurisdiction over Disney World property, so it essentially functions like its own separate county.

The way the RCID is set up allows Disney to have a significant amount of freedom and power over making decisions for things in the district. The Reedy Creek website notes that the RCID is tasked with overseeing land use, providing essential services, regulating certain building codes, and operating all public roadways.

If the RCID were to be done away with, it could mean BIG changes in terms of how Disney operates and would force Disney to turn to county government leaders and regulators to get approval on all kinds of different projects.

Click here for more on the RCID

According to Click Orlando, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has now made comments regarding the potential repeal of the act that basically created the RCID. Click Orlando shares that DeSantis indicated that the repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act (the “Act”) would not be done just as a form of retaliation against Disney and their response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

But, instead, DeSantis reportedly said that the repeal of the Act could be part of a larger effort to strip Disney of what DeSantis has termed “special privileges.”

DeSantis said, “I would not say that that’d be retaliatory. I mean, the way I view it is, you know, there are certain entities that have exerted a lot of influence through corporate means to generate special privileges in the law…I don’t think we should have special privileges in the law at all.” (Click Orlando)

During the news conference, DeSantis also brought up the “Social Media Platforms” bill, which he signed into law back in May of 2021. Click Orlando shares that DeSantis said the idea behind the Social Media Platforms law was “to allow people to sue companies such as Twitter and Facebook for ‘big tech censorship’ and “protect political candidates from being de-platformed.” He claimed that an “’11th hour’ change to the text of the bill served to protect theme parks from such legal avenues.”

According to DeSantis, “that was meant solely to protect Disney. And I opposed that when it happened.” But, instead of vetoing the bill, the Governor signed the law. DeSantis shared that the signing of that legislation was an example of “the one time they (Disney) got something” while he has been in office.

DeSantis then indicated that “special privileges in the law” should be “reevaulated in Florida.”

Speaking about the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and Disney’s response, DeSantis said, “I think that’s one of the reasons they’ve got so far over their skis on this on this parental rights stuff, because I think they’re used to having their way and they’re not used to having people that will stand in their way and say, ‘Actually, the state of Florida is going to be governed by the best interest of the people in Florida’…You know, we’re certainly not going to bend a knee to woke executives in California. That is not the way the state’s going to be run.”

DeSantis also later said, “You should not have one organization that is able to dictate policy in all these different realms, and they have done that for many, many years. And if that stops now, which it should, that would be a good thing for Florida.”

This is a developing situation, check back for more updates.

Click here to see more about the Reedy Creek Improvement District!