Ron DeSantis said he expects to gain more control over Walt Disney Co.’s special district board, the latest chapter in a feud between the Florida Republican governor and the entertainment giant.
(Bloomberg) — Ron DeSantis said he expects to gain more control over Walt Disney Co.’s special district board, the latest chapter in a feud between the Florida Republican governor and the entertainment giant.
“The corporate kingdom has come to an end, and that will be the case if enacted,” DeSantis, who’s widely expected to run for president in 2024, said Thursday at a press conference in The Villages, a retirement community north of Orlando. “You cannot have a corporation controlling its own government. That is not good governance.”
The governor’s comments come a few days after lawmakers announced they’re working on a proposal that would remove some of the powers of Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government entity that granted sweeping benefits to Disney for half a century. In a public notice posted on Osceola County’s website on Friday, the lawmakers said they’re looking to bolster transparency and ensure the district’s debts aren’t transferred to the state, among other changes.
Still, the would-be legislation wouldn’t impact Reedy Creek’s almost $1 billion in bonds outstanding, as it would keep its main revenue streams intact, state Representative Fred Hawkins said in a separate interview.
“Disney will not have the ability to self-govern,” said Hawkins, who asked Osceola County, where part of Reedy Creek district is located, to post details of the proposed legislation on Friday. “Any outstanding debt will be owned by the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”
Last year, DeSantis signed a law that in June 2023 would dissolve Reedy Creek. The move was a response to what the Republican governor saw as Disney’s criticism of a law he signed that limits elementary school teachings about gender identity.
Since then, Florida lawmakers started reviewing ways to restore some of those benefits, with state Representative Randy Fine, who sponsored the law that would dissolve Reedy Creek, saying in December he was encouraged by the ouster of Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek. At the time, DeSantis Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said the governor won’t make any “U-turns” from the law and not reverse pledges to remove “the extraordinary benefit given” to Disney.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.