Disney Vs. DeSantis: The Next Volley In Florida's Political Fight

The political feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co. DIS took a sharp right turn with the governor calling a special session of the state legislature to revoke a special status that enabled the company to operate as an independent government in the area around its Orlando theme parks.

What Happened: During a press conference on Tuesday, DeSantis announced the legislature was meeting for its decennial reconfiguration of the state’s congressional district map based on the results of the recent U.S. Census data updates.

He then added an extra agenda item for the Republican-majority legislature to pursue that involved “termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

The Reedy Creek Improvement District functions as a county government and covers roughly 39 square miles that includes the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista plus the unincorporated land within its parameters. It was created in 1967 at the insistence of Walt Disney when was planning to create his Florida theme parks.

The legendary studio head stated the company would function more efficiently with full autonomy rather than answering to county governments. Gov. Claude R. Kirk Jr., a Republican, signed the legislation creating the district in May 1967, seven months before Disney passed away.

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What Happens Next: Disney and DeSantis have been at loggerheads since the company came out belatedly against the controversial so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that prohibits sex education teaching in schools prior to the third grade; the company later issued a statement that it would work to have the new law overturned while DeSantis called the company "woke" and accused it of injecting "California values" in his state's political environment.

If the Reedy Creek Improvement District was dissolved, its functions would be absorbed by Orange and Osceola counties and the district’s tax revenues would be divided between the two counties.

However, an analysis by WFTV.com determined that the costs of dissolving the district might outweigh the political benefits. The district has been operating at a loss of approximately $5 million to $10 million per year, which Disney has subsidized, but taxpayers in the Orange and Osceola counties would then become responsible for a new wave of infrastructure costs plus the district’s debt, which is reportedly as high as $1 billion.

Disney did not respond to DeSantis’ action and could take the matter to court to prevent Reedy Creek Improvement District from being dismantled.