DeSantis Reportedly Backing Down From Plan to Wreck Disney's Self Government District

[LetMyPeopleVote]

DeathSantis' stunt of attacking Disney never made sense. Abolishing taxing district would cause the local counties to assume the bond obligations. DeathSantis has had to back down from the stunt

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‘We Can’t Let the Governor Look Like He Lost’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made national headlines in April when he signed a bill repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the special taxing district on the Walt Disney Company’s Central Florida property. But now that the governor has won re-election, Disney has brought back a former CEO — and the legal reality loomed ready to inflict some staggeringly bad consequences — DeSantis is reportedly backing down.

The bill repealing RCID effective June 1, 2023 was sponsored by State Rep. Randy Fine (R) and State Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R), who did not communicate with anyone at Disney, RCID, or any of the county governments that would be affected before passing this ill-conceived law.

The Republicans backing the move openly admitted they were doing so in retaliation for former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s criticism of the Parental Rights in Education bill (deemed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its critics), specifically regarding a memo Chapek sent to Disney employees vocally objecting to the bill after its passage. Chapek also hit the pause button on the Mouse making any political contributions and a plan to move thousands of employees from Palo Alto, California to a new facility being built in Lake Nona (a region in the southeast area of Orlando).

“The bill essentially sets up a system of legislative blackmail,” I wrote back in April, by timing the repeal to take effect after the 2022 midterm elections and 2023 regular legislative session, sending a message to Disney to sit down and shut up (and get out their campaign checkbook again)......

I’ve said throughout this saga that there was no way RCID would actually get repealed. Disney had multiple legal avenues to challenge it that were widely viewed as “slam dunk” winners by even notably conservative attorneys who are normally loath to make optimistic predictions about litigation outcomes. And the consequences to the state’s economy and environment would be far too dire.