On Thursday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not done yet with woke Disney, and now he planning for “additional legislative action” to undo Disney’s special tax district in his escalating feud with the industry.
Here’s what DeSantis said, “There’s going to be additional legislative action, We’ve contemplated that. We know what we’re going to do, so stay tuned. That’ll all be apparent.”
After the Florida Legislature repealed the 1960s-era law that established the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appeared on Fox News’ Ingraham Angle, hosted by Laura Ingraham, and said his administration is working on additional legislation to address Disney’s tax status.
Disney was able to operate somewhat independently because of the district’s capacity to tax at its own rate, create its own police, and oversee its own utilities. The repeal of the improvement district was long overdue, according to Florida Republicans.
However, critics have raised concerns about who will cover the costs that Disney was previously liable for. DeSantis stated that the costs will not be borne by the local taxpayer.
“They are paying money to run their operations,” DeSantis said. “They will continue paying money to run their operations, and that will be true if the state is in charge of a district, if it’s dissolved to the locals, it doesn’t matter.”
DeSantis continued by saying the “characterization of the statute is inaccurate.”
“Disney will pay its debts,” DeSantis said. “Disney will, for the first time, actually live under the same laws as everybody else in Florida. Imagine that.”
Among other lawmakers, Florida State Representative Randy Fine (R-Brevard County) has not revealed what legislative action the Republican majority would take, but he has criticized Disney, saying, “We are not interested in their California ideals.”
“Disney is learning that they’re a guest in this state,” Fine said. “We have given them special privileges for 55 years and it’s time for them to remember that we are not California, and we are not interested in California values.”
Florida State Representative Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) calls Disney a “guest” in Florida and that the state is “not interested in their California values.” https://t.co/tSbUDk0Vs8 pic.twitter.com/S2bsc2I1aD
— Newsmax (@newsmax) April 20, 2022
Disney’s special taxing district should be repealed, according to outgoing Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor).
“It’s about time that Florida went and looked at these special taxing districts having this awesome power, I mean, Disney, a corporation, has power from the state to build their own nuclear power plant should they decide to do so. After they came out and said what they said, and I agree with you completely, the statements were just totally outrageous, they misled Floridians, they misled Americans about what the Florida legislature did to protect kids Kindergarten through 3rd grade.”
Great to talk with @kilmeade on Fox last night about Florida’s Special Session to assess the powers of special districts like Disney’s Reedy Creek.
Full interview: https://t.co/a02i2AkHPB pic.twitter.com/yT1Os1T7oM
— Chris Sprowls (@ChrisSprowls) April 22, 2022
Disney’s outspoken opposition to the Parental Rights in Education bill was the catalyst for the Reedy Creek repeal. They were first silent on the matter, but after pressure from Disney employees, they came out against the legislation.
Sources: Conservativebrief, Cnn, Floridatoday
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