The Florida legislature gave final approval on Thursday to two bills aimed at Disney. The move comes weeks after a dispute between the company and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis over a new law that limits classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity.
One of the projects is to eliminate the status that allows Disney to operate as an independent government at its Orlando-area theme parks. The other ends up with a company ban on a social media bill that was sanctioned last year but suspended by a federal judge.
The bills passed 70-38 in the Florida House without any debate, as several black Democratic members staged a protest against Congress’ redistribution map.
Disney projects passed the state Senate on Wednesday (20) and now proceed to Governor DeSantis’s assessment.
Disney drew the ire of DeSantis earlier this year over legislation banning schools from teaching young children about sexual orientation or gender identity.
After initially refusing to comment, Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly criticized Florida lawmakers for passing what naysayers called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and apologized to the company’s LGBTQIA+ employees for not being a strongest supporter of the movement.
Chapek then announced that the company would stop making political donations in Florida after decades of generous contributions, mostly to Republicans, including a $50,000 donation to DeSantis’ reelection effort.
While this week’s special session was originally convened to finalize the once-a-decade work on redistributing the state’s congressional maps, lawmakers added the Disney bills to the agenda.
This week, DeSantis challenged lawmakers in a surprise announcement to unveil a unique Florida law — the Reedy Creek Improvement Act — that helped establish Walt Disney World in the state, giving the creators of Mickey Mouse operational autonomy.
The bill would dissolve the special district on June 1, 2023.
The Reedy Creek district covers Disney properties near Orlando, allowing the company to manage land within its boundaries and provide its own public services such as firefighting and police. There are also significant tax advantages for Disney in the deal.
Republicans, often unable to provide detailed answers to questions about the legislation’s financial and legal implications during discussions, suggested the legislature could work through the logistics of dissolution next year.
This week, Florida Democrats spoke out against the bills, accusing Republicans of retaliating against the state’s largest private employer in ways that will ripple through the entire important tourism economy.
State Senator Gary Farmer, a Democrat, called the tactic “shoot first, ask questions later.”
“Reedy Creek’s debt service alone is over a billion dollars,” Farmer said Wednesday. “This bill does not provide for how this debt service will be assumed. Local government entities must collect assets and liabilities from any special districts that are dissolved.”
Democratic State Representative Fentrice Driskell spoke to CNN just before the polls take place on Thursday: “It will cost the Orange and Osceola county governments and therefore taxpayers billions of dollars, I’m talking an estimated additional tax burden of $2,200 to $2,800 per family.” .
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
