(Tallahassee) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Friday a state law that eliminates the “private special district” status that Walt Disney World has enjoyed in the state for 55 years.
Posted at 5:58 p.m.
The entertainment giant recently objected to a new state law that bans school teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, kindergarten through third grade, as well as the teaching that is not “age or developmentally appropriate” of the child.
The new law signed into law by the Republican governor Friday would eliminate by June 2023 the Special District of “Reedy Creek Improvement,” which manages the Walt Disney World Resort grounds in Florida, along with a handful of other similar districts. However, the law allows these districts to be reinstated, which opens the way to possible negotiation.
The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose theme parks have turned Orlando into one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. This measure can also only further sour relations between the state government and a major political actor in Florida.
For Governor DeSantis, this attack on Disney is his latest salvo in a culture war waged against policies involving race, gender and the coronavirus. These battles have made him one of the nation’s most popular Republican politicians and a likely 2024 presidential candidate.
The dispute with Disney began when the entertainment giant criticized the law banning teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in early school. In March, Disney announced it would suspend political contributions in the state and instead support organizations that oppose the new law.
Mr. DeSantis and his fellow Republicans then lambasted Disney and defended the law as reasonable. During the new law’s signing ceremony on Friday, the governor argued that Disney had lied about the content of the education law, and he called the company’s intention to challenge it unacceptable.
“You’re a company based in Burbank, Calif., and you’re going to harness your economic power to attack parents in my state,” he said. We see this as a provocation, and we will fight against it. »