Florida Lawmakers Punish Walt Disney World By Passing Bill Dissolving Special District

Topline

The Florida legislature passed a bill Thursday that abolishes special districts in the state including the Reedy Creek Improvement District that governs Walt Disney World—potentially totally overhauling how the tourism mecca operates—as a punishment for Disney speaking out against HB 1557, known to critics as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park on April 03, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.

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Key Facts

The Florida House passed House Bill 3C Thursday in a 70-38 vote, after the Florida Senate approved it Wednesday 23-16.

The bill dissolves all special districts established before 1968 in the state that haven’t been re-ratified, which applies to Reedy Creek and five others.

Reedy Creek, which was established by the legislature in 1967, covers 25,000 acres of land on Walt Disney World’s property in Central Florida and essentially enables the resort to self-govern itself, with the special district having similar powers to local county governments—like controlling roads, construction permits, building codes and other municipal issues.

Walt Disney World has operated through Reedy Creek since it opened in 1971, but Florida Republican lawmakers turned against the resort’s arrangement after the company opposed HB 1557, which restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill was passed Thursday without debate just three days after it was introduced, after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Tuesday the legislature would expand its special session to include measures aimed at punishing Disney.

Disney declined to comment Thursday on the legislation or any next steps the company will take.

What To Watch For

The bill will now go to DeSantis, who is expected to sign it into law given that he expanded the special session to pass it. Under the legislation, Reedy Creek and the other special districts would then be dissolved as of June 1, 2023, though they could re-apply for special district status. Once it’s enacted, the bill is expected to end up in court, however. State Sen. Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) said Tuesday Disney officials had told her they didn’t believe the legislature had the power to dissolve the special district—state law stipulates a majority of the district’s landowners must vote in favor of it—and would likely go to court to defend Reedy Creek.

Chief Critics

Democratic lawmakers have heavily opposed the special districts bill as “political theater” being enacted by Republicans as political revenge against Disney that distracts from larger issues. “This is not democracy — this is one party rule drunk on power and bullying anyone in their way into submission,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D), who represents Orlando, tweeted Thursday after the House passed the legislation and the state’s redistricting maps without full debate.

What We Don’t Know

Exactly what effect dissolving Reedy Creek would have. It’s likely to make things more difficult for Disney when it comes to things like getting construction projects approved, though how it will work for local counties to absorb all the government function Reedy Creek now handles remains to be seen given how little analysis was done before the legislation was passed. A Senate analysis of the bill also noted local counties will have to absorb Reedy Creek’s debts—which total nearly $1 billion—even though Republican lawmakers behind the bill have claimed it shouldn’t pose a tax burden to local residents.

Key Background

Disney, the largest single-site employer in Florida, is being punished for publicly opposing HB 1557, which bans any school instruction on “sexual orientation or gender identity” through the third grade, and any discussions about it in older grades if it’s “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” Florida Republicans first floated the idea of getting rid of Reedy Creek after Disney released a statement saying the law “should never” have been passed or enacted, and that its “goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.” That statement broadly set off many conservatives, who have gone on to hold protests at Walt Disney World and decry the company in right-wing media, and caused Florida Republicans to seek out ways to take away some of the special privileges the company’s received through the state.

Tangent

In addition to targeting Reedy Creek, Florida Republicans have also sought to punish Disney by eliminating a carve-out in the social media censorship law it enacted last year for companies with theme parks, which was designed by Republicans to exempt Disney. That bill also passed the state legislature Thursday in a 70-38 House vote after clearing the Senate Wednesday. DeSantis has said the state will not go after any corporate tax breaks Disney receives from the state, however, including up to $570 million in tax breaks the company is set to receive for a new office complex it’s opening, according to the Orlando Sentinel, and corporate tax refunds Florida is set to issue in May.