DeSantis v. Disney: GOP lawmakers give governor more muscle ahead of court fight

TALLAHASSEE – Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature came to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ aid again in his lengthy battle with the Walt Disney Co., approving a measure aimed at strengthening his hand in upcoming court hearings.

On the eve of the final day of the two-month legislative session, the Florida Senate approved a bill (CS/SB 1604) Thursday intended to nullify development agreements which kept the company in command of its 25,000-acres in Orange and Osceola counties.

The House approved the measure a day earlier, 75-34, breaking mostly along party lines.

DeSantis signed the bill into law Friday, just hours after the Legislature adjourned the 2023 session.

Disney vs. DeSantis timeline: What happened when Florida's governor took on the Mouse

War of words: Disney accuses DeSantis of 'unconstitutional' and 'retaliatory' acts in lawsuit

The Senate vote was 27-13 to approve what amounts to DeSantis’ latest swipe at the entertainment giant. Sen. Joe Gruters, R- Sarasota, was the only Senate Republican to vote against the legislation.

Gruters chaired former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign in Florida. DeSantis, who is expected soon to announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination, is badly trailing Trump in most polls.

A political and legal siege – that's very personal

But the governor’s clash with Florida’s biggest private employer has turned into both a political and legal siege, spanning state and federal courts and unfolding over almost a year and a half.

The action Thursday came only a day after lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that would allow the state Department of Transportation to inspect Walt Disney World's monorail system, singling out the company for an exception to state law which allows Florida's largest theme parks to conduct their own safety inspections.

The development fight stems from February, when Disney-allied board members on the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing authority, approved agreements which rendered meaningless an attempt by the governor to take over the district, created in 1967 to give the company broad, self-governing powers.

DeSantis was enraged by the company’s opposition last year to a parental rights law limiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, which critics condemned as “Don’t Say Gay.”

In a special session of the Legislature earlier this year, DeSantis swung at Disney, getting lawmakers to authorize his recasting of Reedy Creek as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, with appointees he later named.

But Reedy Creek, just before the DeSantis takeover, enacted the development agreements as one of its last acts, keeping Disney in control of its vast holdings.

Legislation aimed at scuttling Disney-backed agreements

The legislation approved Thursday seeks to scuttle that – allowing the new board of a special district whose membership structure had changed to abolish any development agreement approved by an earlier board in its last three months of existence.

Disney has sued the governor in federal court, accusing him of retaliation and violating the company’s free speech rights.

The Central Florida Tourism board has fired back with a lawsuit of its own in state court, seeking to “uphold and enforce” its recent action intended to void the agreements made by the earlier board.

While the Senate vote came without much discussion, the House a day earlier traded views of the DeSantis-Disney contest.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, dismissed the effort as a fruitless game of “whack-a-Mouse.”

But Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton, said there were serious policy matters in play.

"We’re dealing with a lame duck board that is saddling a new board with obligations,” Robinson said.

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis vs. Disney: Lawmakers strengthen governor's hand in lawsuit