Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill Ending Disney’s Special Self-Governing Status

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure into law on Friday evening that dissolves Walt Disney World’s special governing power in the state.

The Florida Senate voted Wednesday to remove the status and the Florida House followed suit on Thursday.

The special status, known as The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, was signed into law in May 1967 by Gov. Claude Kirk in response to lobbying efforts by Disney. The entertainment giant proposed building a recreation-oriented development on 25,000 acres of property in a remote area of Central Florida’s Orange and Osceola counties, which consisted of 38.5 square miles of largely uninhabited pasture and swampland.

In this photo from Feb. 24, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at the 2022 CPAC conference at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

In this photo from Feb. 24, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at the 2022 CPAC conference at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Orange and Osceola County did not have the services or resources needed to bring the project to life, so the state legislature worked with Disney to establish the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing district that allows the company to act with the same authority and responsibility as a county government.

Disney released a statement shortly after DeSantis signed the parental rights bill and vowed to help fight the law in court.

“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” Disney said. “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”

DeSantis has pushed back against the company multiple times and pledged to oppose the “wokeness” he says the company is promoting.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Look, there’s policy disputes, and that’s fine,” DeSantis said earlier this month, “but when you’re trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant threat.”

“This wokeness will destroy this country if we let it run unabated,” DeSantis added. “So in Florida, we take a very big stand against that.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this article.


Read More From Original Article Here:

" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."

Related Articles

Back to top button
Close

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker