On Thursday afternoon, Florida lawmakers voted in a special session to revoke Disney World’s designation as a special tax district, which had allowed the company to self-govern its 25,000-acre theme park.
This vote follows on the heels of Disney’s criticism of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, known by opposers as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was passed last month. The law prohibits teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade.
Following the bill’s passage, Disney CEO Bob Chapek released a statement saying the parental rights law “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”
The Florida House voted Thursday 70-38 to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) and any others established before 1968. The Florida Senate had passed the bill on Wednesday. All that is left to make it official is for DeSantis to sign the bill, which he is expected to do.
The RCID was created in 1967 to encourage Walt Disney to build a theme park in the area. The special district brings certain tax benefits to the company, but even more important, it essentially allows Disney to act as its own county government to control the land on which it sits.
As The New York Times put it, “Reedy Creek gives Disney considerable sway over the planning and permitting process for construction on its vast property, including road building. Reedy Creek also levies taxes on Disney to pay for the resort’s own fire and medical response battalions, among other services. Disney World even generates some of its own electricity through Reedy Creek.”
DeSantis and other supporters of the repeal say it is time to give the legislature governance over the district.
“I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state,” DeSantis stated in a fundraising email to supporters on Wednesday. “Disney has gotten away with special deals from the State of Florida for way too long.”
Some business leaders think the repeal has retaliatory motives.
“In 1967, Florida granted special governance and tax status to Disney World. Maybe that was bad policy. But to revoke it because [DeSantis] objects to Disney’s position on unrelated legislation smacks of [government] retaliation for exercising free speech. Bad look for a conservative,” tweeted Lloyd Blankfein, senior chairman of Goldman Sachs.
If DeSantis abolishes the RCID, control of Walt Disney World’s 40+ square miles will revert to the two counties it straddles, Osceola and Orange. They would be required to provide the same fire protection, emergency medical services, permitting services, and other governance that Disney currently pays for.
“The special district does not exempt Disney from paying property taxes,” Dr. James Clark, a political analyst and senior lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Central Florida, stated in an interview with Disney Food Blog.
Disney is the largest taxpayer in Central Florida. The company already pays nearly $300 million in property taxes to Orange and Osceola counties each year and about $250 million in other state taxes.
Former Republican State Representative Bobby Olszewski said in a statement to WFTV9, “This seems like saber-rattling in order to draw some headlines…I can tell you they (Disney) have done a lot for our state and for our local community, so it is surprising that this is something that is coming up right now.”
