Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appears to have been correct when he declared his fight with the Walt Disney Co. was not over.
According to reports, Disney may have skirted state law to retain control over its property.
To recap, Disney World’s longtime pseudo-self-government, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was slated to be replaced by a board appointed by the governor’s office per a new state law passed in February.
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That emerged from Disney’s brawl with DeSantis last year over the Parental Rights in Education law, which prohibits school districts and classroom teachers from implementing lesson plans based on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3.
The February law updated powers over Disney’s property that the company was granted back in 1967. The new board, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, was given much of the authority granted to Reedy Creek.
Yet just before the law took effect, Disney thought it outmaneuvered DeSantis. Reedy Creek transferred its power to the Walt Disney Co., essentially rendering the new board moot.
Critics leapt on DeSantis, including former President Donald Trump’s camp.
But DeSantis promised a review, with Attorney General Ashley Moody also involved in analyzing it.
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The Federalist, citing unnamed sources supportive of DeSantis, reported on Sunday that “Disney’s corporate lawyers missed the fine print in Florida statute governing tourist districts.”
“A source familiar with the investigation revealed to The Federalist that Disney skipped key steps when amending its developmental agreement, rendering the resolution null and void.”
Under Florida law, Reedy Creek was required to take three steps to change its governing status.
The district had to hold two public hearings, advertise those hearings in a local newspaper, and offer notice by mail to “all affected property owners before the first public hearing,” the law states.
Disney checked the first box, conducting hearings on Jan. 25 and Feb. 8.
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The company also marked off the second, advertising the proceedings in the Orlando Sentinel.
But that last requirement, to notify all “affected property owners” by mail, “was skipped entirely,” The Federalist reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with Disney’s proceedings.
“The missed mandate means the company would have to restart the process for its 11th-hour resolution to be valid,” the outlet added.
DeSantis appears to have been right when he told critics at the beginning of April, “But rest assured—you ain’t seen nothing yet. There’s more to come in that regard.”
Stay tuned for the next move.
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