Ron DeSantis strikes back at Disney: Republican-led Legislature comes to governor's aid

TALLAHASSEE – Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature moved swiftly to endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis latest attempt to assert control over the Walt Disney Company following its criticism last year of legislation seen as targeting the LGBTQ community.

House and Senate panels, divided mostly along party lines, approved measures Wednesday which could negate a development agreement approved by Disney-allied board members on the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing district established in 1967.

The agreement rendered meaningless an earlier takeover attempt by the governor who was antagonized by the company’s opposition last year to a parental rights law limiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, which critics condemned as “Don’t Say Gay.”

The development agreement DeSantis is now fighting lets Disney retain control over most matters involving its 25,000-acre property sprawling across Orange and Osceola counties.

DeSantis, poised to announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, is intent on overturning that agreement. The legislation advancing Wednesday allows district board members, now appointed by DeSantis, to do just that.

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DeSantis’ latest Disney slap is contained in a single paragraph in an amendment to land-use bills moving in the House and Senate.

Democrats say, just drop fight with Disney World

Democrats, though, urged the governor to drop the prolonged clash with the state’s largest private employer, as the Legislature enters its closing weeks.

“I’m all about corporate accountability,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando. “But this isn’t it. And it continues to be a distraction for us to focus on real life issues by continuing this Disney v. DeSantis drama. I really encourage folks to put this to bed.”

The amendment doesn’t mention Disney or Reedy Creek. But it would allow the new board of a special district whose membership structure had changed to abolish a development agreement approved by an earlier board in its last three months of existence.

The timeline outlined in the amendment matches that of DeSantis’ recasting of Reedy Creek as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and the creation of the development pact which emerged as one of the old board’s final acts.

Republicans say DeSantis' Disney World fight is worth it

Rep. Stan McClain, R-Ocala, sponsor of the amendment attached to his land-use bill (HB 439), defended the approach.

“I think we do need to remember: the Legislature sets up special districts and allows them,” he told the State Affairs Committee. “We should be able to change how we think some of these things need to happen going forward. ... When problems arise, we fix them.”

But Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby, D-St. Petersburg, said DeSantis should abandon the Disney fight. She said Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate are being used by the governor to continue a petty political fight with one of Florida’s signature companies.

“I don’t like that we’re interfering with private businesses. I don’t like that the Legislature is being used as a pawn to promote some type of battle between the governor and a private entity,” she said. “Sometimes you just get out-lawyered. ... I don’t know if this is the way to remedy that. There are significant concerns about the constitutional language of the amendment.”

A similarly worded amendment was attached to a comparable land-use bill (SB 1604) in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, a former Florida Republican Party chair and close ally of DeSantis. That cleared the Senate Rules Committee and is headed for a full Senate vote.

“If any special district at the last second transfers powers to escape the will and the law of the Legislature – transfers powers away – yes, I think that should be scrutinized,” Ingoglia said. “We should not let that go blindly. Anytime you saddle or put a new board at a disadvantage...all of that should be scrutinized.”

"Bad precedent" may also be illegal

Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said the Legislature retroactively going after a company “sets a bad precedent.”

Democrats also pointed out that crafting legislation designed to impair the obligations of a contract violates both state and federal constitutions.

“We shouldn’t come in as the Legislature and say we don’t agree with what you’ve done,” Jones said.

Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, also pointed out the development agreement was done properly at a publicly noticed meeting. But Ingoglia and other DeSantis allies are disputing that characterization.

Indeed, the DeSantis-appointed board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District met Wednesday and attacked the previous board’s agreement. The board quickly voted to erase the development agreement which, like the Legislature’s push to change state law, is likely to draw a lawsuit from the company.

“Disney engaged in a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law. Its efforts are illegal and they will not stand,” said David Thompson, attorney with Cooper & Kirk, a Washington, D.C., law firm the new board has hired to challenge Disney’s control.

Also representing the new board is former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson.

“I’ve never seen a more blatant and hostile attempt on a scale like this to openly thwart the law,” Lawson told the board.

Disney did not immediately respond for comment about Wednesday’s actions.

New board chair rips Disney, praises DeSantis

District Board Chair Martin Garcia, a Tampa lawyer, also talked Wednesday about the district’s needs to increase revenue collections to pay for expanded services across its almost 40 miles of property.

He highlighted aspirational goals for the board, including bringing affordable housing into the district for Disney’s substantial workforce and lowering the district’s carbon footprint. Garcia read from a prepared text while ridiculing Disney and praising DeSantis.

“Disney’s lobbying and marketing campaign...succeeded for more than a half century, because nobody in Tallahassee was willing to shine a light on this arrangement. Then, Gov. Ron DeSantis courageously called it out for betraying not only fair market competition, but also the citizens of Florida,” Garcia said.

“At this point, only Disney believes that the old Reedy Creek Improvement Act is a good deal for the Sunshine State,” he concluded.

Trump, Chris Christie criticize DeSantis over Disney fight

DeSantis, though, has been catching heat over his feud with Disney, as it lurches into its second year. Former President Donald Trump, who continues to top the Florida governor in most polls on the favorite for next year's Republican presidential nomination, has been lashing out.

“DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney. His original P.R. plan fizzled, so now he’s going back with a new one in order to save face,” Trump said on Truth Social, using a nickname for the governor.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also raised doubts this week about the governor’s conservative credentials and his ability to be president.

“I don’t believe Ron DeSantis is a conservative, based on his actions toward Disney,” Christie 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: Disney vs. DeSantis: Florida lawmakers join fight for control