TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida senators passed a bill Wednesday that would eliminate a handful of special tax districts across the state, including one that essentially allows Walt Disney World to operate its own local government.
Senate Bill 4-C, introduced a day prior as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis' proclamation to have lawmakers consider the termination of special districts established prior to November 1968, passed by a 23-16 vote in the Republican-backed chamber. State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-Pinellas Park, joined Democrats in voting against the legislation.
According to the bill's analysis, should DeSantis sign it into law, such special districts would be dissolved effective June 1, 2023. Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District, plus five others statewide, could be reestablished thereafter but with likely changes.
The feud between DeSantis and Disney arose amid Disney's criticism of the state's controversial "Parental Rights in Education" law. Critics have called it the "Don't Say Gay" law because it bars educators from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity to students in kindergarten through third grade. School districts may opt to ban topics of sexual orientation or gender identity beyond third grade if leaders deem them not to be age or developmentally appropriate
Disney in a statement, in part, said it is a "goal...for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts." DeSantis called the company's stated goal as something that "crossed the line" because "the demands of California corporate executives" should not have authority in the state.
In 1967, state lawmakers passed and then-Gov. Claude R. Kirk Jr. signed the Reedy Creek Improvement Act that had been advocated by Disney for building a new theme park.
The district essentially has the same responsibilities as the government, such as land use, essential public services, wastewater control and more, but it's Disney that's able to operate these functions, the Orlando Sentinel reports. If the district is dissolved, jurisdiction over the Walt Disney World property would fall to either Orange or Osceola counties, according to the Wall Street Journal.
And that could prove costly to Disney and local municipalities.
"It is difficult to estimate what a dissolution of [Reedy Creek] would cost Disney over time," Michael Rinaldi, head of U.S. Local Government Ratings at Fitch Ratings, told the Journal. It "would eliminate access to tax-exempt debt issuance via [Reedy Creek], potentially costing Disney and other landowners within the district more to finance various projects."
Other districts that could be affected by the Senate bill include the Bradford County Development Authority (Bradford County), Sunshine Water Control District (Broward County), Eastpoint Water and Sewer District (Franklin County), Hamilton County Development Authority (Hamilton County) and the Marion County Law Library (Marion County).