Florida Governor DeSantis Signs Bill Stripping Disney of Autonomous Legal Status
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Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation Friday that strips Disney of its 50-year-old “independent special district” status in retaliation for criticizing Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law.
The law dissolves the Reedy Creek Improvement District, an autonomous area created in 1967 to accommodate the massive Disney World complex near Orlando. The independent status grants Disney the privilege of creating its own regulations, building codes, and other municipal services within the zone. The arrangement has also shielded Disney from significant tax burden.
After DeSantis fast-tracked the initiative to a special session on Tuesday, the state Senate voted 23-16 and the state House voted 68-38 in favor of the bill.
The parental rights measure keeps gender identity and sexual orientation instruction out of K-3 elementary school classrooms and enjoys majority support among Floridians and Americans generally regardless of political party.
Proponents of the law claim that Disney inappropriately meddled in political matters and deliberately tried to mislead the public when it rallied against the parental rights measure. Therefore, revoking the company’s special government perks, what some are calling a form of corporate welfare and cronyism, is within bounds, they argue. Critics of the law, however, have said that punishing private entities for opposing the ruling party’s policies sets a dangerous precedent that could make Florida an inhospitable business environment and the political playing field more rife with conflict.
“Disney and other woke corporations won’t get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer,” DeSantis said in a fundraising email encouraging the legislature to enact the bill Wednesday. “If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now.”
Since the Florida legislature passed the bill to revoke Disney’s self-governing status, the company’s stock and shareholder value have plummeted. While the downward trend has been ongoing since March 2021, when the stock price peaked at nearly $200 a share, the tumble has accelerated in recent days since the legislative development.
