DeSantis signs bill enacting state board for Disney’s Reedy Creek

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday to remake Disney’s Reedy Creek board in an effort to ensure that the company’s debts are not passed down to local taxpayers. 

The changes strip Disney of its control over the district, ultimately doing away with many of the company’s self-governing powers. Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud, sponsored the legislation.

The legislation allows DeSantis to appoint members, who are confirmed by the Senate, to the district’s board. The Reedy Creek Improvement District will be renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

“The state of Florida is the new sheriff in town,” DeSantis said. “We’ve created a state control board that is going to be responsible for this area.”

DeSantis said he asked the board to look at the compensation for the first responders and give them more compensation for doing a good job.

Last year, lawmakers passed legislation to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek district. However, Republican leadership called lawmakers into a special session in February in an effort to make sure Disney’s estimated $700 million in debts would not be dropped to the taxpayers once the district dissolved.

Republicans said the newly-appointed district would ensure the company pays its debts. 

The governor’s office said the bill will end Disney’s ability to: build airports, nuclear facilities, toll roads, boundary changes to their property, award noncompetitive construction contracts, and more.

The office said it ends Disney’s exemption from state regulatory reviews and approvals as well as ends Disney’s exemption from the Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code.

“From a policy perspective, how do you give one theme park its own government and then treat all of the other theme parks differently?” DeSantis said. “And so we believe that was not good policy.”

At the press conference, the governor said the state and Disney had a “tussle” over the Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibited teachers from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity for K-3 graders.

“Disney came out against something that was really just about protecting young kids and making sure that students are able to go to school learning to read, write, add, subtract and not having a teacher tell them that they can change their gender,” DeSantis said.

President of the Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters Jon Shirey spoke at the press conference. He said there has been a blatant disregard and bias against the first responders for many years.

“The lack of concern for public safety has been very apparent by the reedy creek administration and the current board of supervisors,” Shirey said.

Shirey said they have had a shortage of firefighter paramedics and ambulances which led to major delays when responding to emergency calls.

During the special session, Democrats advocated for people from the local area to be appointed to the district’s board. 

Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, claimed during session that the board is being “taken over” by Gov. Ron DeSantis and advocated for local voices on the board. Eskamani proposed an amendment that was shot down by Republicans. 

“It does not make sense that that structure be driven by one individual who we all know was mad at Disney last year because this company expressed first amendment rights and defended LGBTQ people,” Eskamani said.