Why does Disney have its own government?
Q. What is a special district, and why does Disney have one?
A. The United States has a federal system of government, which means that we have different governments at different levels. We have a national government based in Washington, D.C., and 50 state governments. Each has its own powers and responsibilities and each is supreme in its area of authority.
Where they are both allowed to govern, they have concurrent powers. That means they can both act within the same area. For example, both state and the federal government have the power to build and maintain roads. Where both have authority and there is a conflict, the federal government prevails under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
While the powers of the Federal Government are more directly limited by the Constitution, state governments have a broader grant of authority. Under the 10th Amendment, all powers not given to the federal government are reserved for the states and people. Local governments, like counties and cities, are an extension of state authority. Their power is generally defined and limited by state constitutions and laws of the state in which they are located.
Special districts are a form of local government, created by states for a particular purpose. It is defined either in law or the state constitution. In Florida, for example, a special district is defined in Section 189.012(6) of the Florida Statutes as “. . . a unit of local government created for a special purpose, as opposed to a general-purpose, which has jurisdiction to operate within a limited geographic boundary and is created by general law, special act, local ordinance, or by rule of the Governor and Cabinet." Special districts can be dependent — controlled or governed by one city or county — or independent.
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The key difference between a special district and a city or county government is that the special district has a specific purpose, with powers limited to that purpose. A county or city has broad or general governing powers. Cities and counties are municipal governments with a wide set of policy-making powers to provide for a comprehensive range of local governmental services.
Many special districts, like the Reedy Creek Improvement District that covers much of Disney World, were established to construct and maintain infrastructure or fund public works. Reedy Creek is responsible for providing municipal services like power, water, roads and fire. It benefits Disney to have greater control over these functions and development in the area and it frees counties and municipalities from having to provide and pay for those services.
There are about 1,800 active special districts in Florida that provide many different functions, from building roads to providing emergency services, conservation, healthcare, education, maintaining navigable waters and even dealing with mosquitoes. Many people probably do not even know that they are in a special district, which might overlap with their city boundaries. The simplest way to tell is to look at your property tax bill, where you can see if you are paying into a special district.
Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar and political science professor at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email him at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on Twitter @kevinwagnerphd.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What is a special district in Florida and why does Disney have one?
