On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that terminated the 1960s-era autonomy of the Walt Disney Corporation over the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Gov. DeSantis stated on Twitter that he had signed legislation to eliminate Disney’s self-governing status, placed the area under state receivership, and assigned five members to a state control board. DeSantis added that Disney no longer has its own government, so it will live under the same rules as everyone else and pay its fair share of taxes.
During a bill-signing celebration in a Lake Buena Vista fire station, DeSantis declared that the corporate kingdom has come to an end. There is a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the key.
DeSantis stated during a news conference that since the 1960s, they’d had benefits that no other company or individual in Florida has ever experienced. Disney was immune from laws everyone else was required to obey, and they could receive enormous benefits without contributing their fair share of taxes.
The governor questioned why one theme park had its own administration, and DeSantis believes it was a poor policy. DeSantis stated that a close relationship with a single California-based corporation was neither justifiable nor sustainable.
The new law renames the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which has existed since the 1960s and contains Walt Disney World Resort and other sites, as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. It gives DeSantis the right to designate members to its five-member board of supervisors, which under the prior statute, was selected by Disney. Also, Disney will be required to implement the Florida construction code and fire prevention code.
The Walt Disney Corporation has been embroiled in a political dispute with Governor DeSantis for the past year and a half. It has advocated woke agendas in its media, including LGBTQ+ characters.
According to Tech Crunch, Disney’s streaming service Disney+ reported a loss of 2.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of the year due to the company’s political maneuverings. Disney’s stock price is near a three-year low, and the company recently announced elimination of 7,000 jobs.
Governor DeSantis has taken bold action to dissuade one of the world’s largest companies from pushing woke agendas on audiences. At the same time, punishing the company for speaking out against the Parental Rights in Education Act, which banned LGBTQ+ content for kindergarten through third-grade children.
The action represents the climax of Republican attempts to limit Disney’s special privileges after DeSantis fought publicly with the corporation over its opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education statute, more commonly known as the “Don’t Say, Gay” bill. This bill, passed last year, restricts teaching elementary school pupils in grades one through three about gender and sexuality.
Walt Disney World Resort president Jeff Vahle said earlier this month after the Florida Senate approved the measure, which DeSantis signed on Monday, “We are focused on the future” and prepared to operate within “this new framework.”
The governor’s aggressive program will benefit the state of Florida, proving once again that DeSantis is among the greatest governors.
For more news: