DeSantis says legislature will ‘nullify’ last-minute dealings between Disney and Reedy Creek
OCALA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis said the quiet agreement between Disney and the former Reedy Creek board, which gave Disney development rights, would be nullified.
“First of all, this is self-dealing. They’re negotiating with themselves,” DeSantis said. “You can’t do that.”
DeSantis said there are state statutes where the legislature and the new board can “void” the agreement. Officials in the governor’s office pointed to growth management laws.
The previous Reedy Creek district board, hand-picked by Disney, quickly slipped through an agreement to give Disney 30-year vested rights and control over all development rights throughout the entire district – not just on Disney’s property.
Those agreements were signed days before a new law went into effect, stripping the Reedy Creek board of its powers.
Lawyers for the new DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which oversees Disney, recently learned about the last minute Disney agreement. They said the agreements “bind” the hands of the new board and are “unlawful.”
“I think Disney has always viewed itself as being exempt from that constitutional process,” DeSantis said. “Well, those days are over here in the state of Florida.”
He explained that “all options are on the table” to make the sure the board can function and make sure Disney “live[s] under the same law.”
Disney said in a statement that “all agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate.”
The governor requested an investigation into the communications leading up to the Disney agreement.
In responding to news of the investigation and mounting energy from state Republicans to explore additional legislation against Disney’s influence, CEO Bob Iger said the new efforts are “anti-business.”
“Our point on this is that any action that thwarts those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida,” Iger said.
