DeSantis moves against Disney with push to eliminate special status for Florida theme park
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated his weeks-long feud with
Disney on Tuesday, challenging lawmakers to eliminate the special status that allows the entertainment company to operate as an independent government around its
Orlando-area theme park.
In a bombshell announcement dropped just hours before lawmakers returned to
Tallahassee for a special session to finalize new congressional maps,
DeSantis changed the agenda for the week to also include a review of
"independent special districts that were established prior to November 5, 1968." That would include the
Reedy Creek Improvement Act, passed by the Legislature in 1967 to help establish
Walt Disney World.
A bill filed by a
Republican lawmaker soon after DeSantis' announcement would dissolve
Disney's special district on June 1, 2023.
