{"id":1416726,"date":"2022-04-03T08:59:57","date_gmt":"2022-04-03T12:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1416726"},"modified":"2022-04-03T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-03T13:00:00","slug":"what-would-happen-if-florida-revoked-disneys-special-governing-arrangement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-would-happen-if-florida-revoked-disneys-special-governing-arrangement\/","title":{"rendered":"What Would Happen If Florida Revoked Disney\u2019s Special Governing Arrangement?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhat-would-happen-if-florida-revoked-disneys-special-governing-arrangement%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1416726&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>The passing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Session\/Bill\/2022\/1557\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Florida\u2019s Parental Rights in Education bill<\/a> and Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 signing of it into law have escalated into a tense war between the <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/vodkapundit\/2022\/03\/31\/the-trickle-down-genius-of-ron-desantis-n1585850\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increasingly solid red state<\/a> and The Walt Disney Corporation, which continues to double down on its heavily pro-LGBT stance.<\/p>\n<p>Disney has vowed to fight for the repeal of the law despite the fact that it reflects the values of parents throughout the state \u2014 as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/chris-queen\/2022\/03\/22\/disney-cast-members-who-dont-buy-into-the-lgbtq-agenda-make-their-voices-heard-n1568518\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">many of the company\u2019s cast members<\/a> (which is what Disney calls its employees).<\/p>\n<p>But, just as we\u2019ve expected from Florida\u2019s governor, DeSantis isn\u2019t simply rolling over \u2014 he\u2019s fighting back.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/rick-moran\/2022\/04\/01\/war-desantis-suggests-ending-disneys-special-self-governing-status-n1586118\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my PJ Media colleague Rick Moran<\/a> wrote that DeSantis and other GOP legislators in the Sunshine State have mused about repealing the legislation that gave Disney its own governmental authority over the Walt Disney Word property over 50 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>I predicted that this could be a nuclear option for DeSantis last month <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/chris-queen\/2022\/03\/10\/disney-walks-a-fine-line-with-floridas-parental-rights-bill-n1565154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">when I wrote<\/a>, \u201cIf Disney did criticize Florida too harshly, the state could play hardball and threaten to revoke the legislation that created the company\u2019s special quasi-governmental designation, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcid.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reedy Creek Improvement District<\/a>, which allows the company to operate with less interference from the state and county governments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of you have wondered what exactly that means, but first, let me give you a little background into Disney\u2019s special governing authority, which is called the Reedy Creek Improvement District.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve written tons about Disney history <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/columnist\/chris-queen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here at PJ Media<\/a> and in my book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Neon-Crosses-Chris-Queen\/dp\/1957586052\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17AGLMVM4PUY0&#038;keywords=chris+queen+neon+crosses&#038;qid=1648908187&#038;sprefix=chris+queen+%2Caps%2C92&#038;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Neon Crosses<\/em><\/a> (which you <em>really<\/em> should buy). In <em>Neon Crosses<\/em>, I explained the concept behind the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore Walt died, the legal team discovered a somewhat obscure Florida law that allowed for the creation of special improvement districts with a different form of governance than a traditional municipality. Bob Foster convinced Walt that petitioning the state legislature to allow Disney to govern its own property under that law was the way to go. An improvement district would grant the company exemptions from local building codes and would allow Disney to create its own first response and telecommunications services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Creating the Reedy Creek Improvement District allowed Disney to develop state-of-the-art communications systems that no one else had ever tried, implement innovative environmental control measures, and build unique buildings all without local government interference.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a class=\"hl\" title=\"Disney Cast Members Who Don&#039;t Buy Into the LGBTQ Agenda Make Their Voices Heard\" href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/chris-queen\/2022\/03\/22\/disney-cast-members-who-dont-buy-into-the-lgbtq-agenda-make-their-voices-heard-n1568518\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Disney Cast Members Who Don\u2019t Buy Into the LGBTQ Agenda Make Their Voices Heard<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Reedy Creek Improvement District does a lot of work on Disney\u2019s vast property. <a href=\"https:\/\/blogmickey.com\/2022\/03\/florida-legislators-looking-to-repeal-1967-reedy-creek-improvement-act-after-disney-embraces-woke-ideology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blog Mickey breaks it down<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u2022 134 miles of roadways and 67 miles of waterways built and maintained<br \/>\u2022 250,000 daily guests<br \/>\u2022 6-8 minute response time for fire and EMS<br \/>\u2022 60,000 tons of waste managed<br \/>\u2022 30 tons of aluminum, paper, steel cans, cardboard and plastic containers recycled every year<br \/>\u2022 22,800 water samples collected by RCID scientists from 1,500 locations on the property for testing every year<br \/>\u2022 90,000 analyses conducted to make sure that water quality meets or exceeds state and national standards. Water draining from the south end of the District is generally cleaner than when it entered Reedy Creek at its north end.<br \/>\u2022 2,000 vendors, suppliers and contractors used to provide a high level of public services for visitors<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That\u2019s a ton of service to the guests and cast members at Walt Disney World. So what would happen if the state revoked the Reedy Creek Improvement District?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/news\/local\/2022\/03\/30\/it-would-be-a-disaster-florida-lawmakers-discuss-repealing-disneys-reedy-creek-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Orlando\u2019s News 6 political analyst Jim Clark reported<\/a> that \u201cIt would be a disaster for Disney. One of the reasons they came here in the mid-60s was the legislature\u2019s promise that they could have self-government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walt Disney World straddles two counties: Orange and Osceola. Revoking Reedy Creek would put that big chunk of Disney back under the jurisdictions of those two counties. Before we dig into more specifics, imagine the headache of dealing with not one, but two county authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Disney would lose its autonomy in every area listed in the bullet points above and subject the company to a mind-blowing tangle of local government bureaucracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRather than local governments, Disney is in control of everything from construction zoning, building codes and fire department services to controlling its own electricity, roads and water, meaning if the law is repealed, Disney will now have to get government approval for decisions about its operations\u2014which might be harder or take longer to get,\u201d notes Alison Durkee at <em>Forbes<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Disney installs its own Board of Supervisors over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and that board implements its own rules and self-taxation over the property, which pays for the services that the district offers. Those taxes would become county taxes that Orange and Osceola Counties would be sure to raise in order to pay for the additional burden of services that the property would impose on the counties.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Recommended Disney History Lesson:<\/strong><\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/culture\/chris-queen\/2013\/05\/03\/walt-disneys-fascinating-political-journey-n145297\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Walt Disney\u2019s Fascinating Political Journey<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the Florida legislature has been extremely Disney-friendly for 50-plus years. Legislators have carved out all sorts of exceptions to legislation that benefits Walt Disney World and enacted legislation that Disney has lobbied for. From carveouts for social media companies to transportation initiatives, Florida has been good to Disney, and Jason Garcia detailed much of it in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridatrend.com\/print\/article\/27473\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2019 <em>Florida Trend<\/em> article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Disney could easily lose a remarkably friendly legislature should Florida\u2019s GOP decide to go nuclear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of special privileges that are not justifiable, but because Disney had held so much sway, they were able to sustain a lot of special treatment over the years,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/alisondurkee\/2022\/03\/31\/heres-how-florida-republicans-could-punish-disney-for-dont-say-gay-opposition\/?sh=624625d519c4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DeSantis said last week<\/a>. \u201cAnd now with their conduct \u2026 I just don\u2019t think you have very many people in the legislature anymore that are going to be able to defend what has been done over many, many years to have them govern themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another thing Disney could lose is immense tax breaks that could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, although DeSantis has hinted that he\u2019s inclined to leave those alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeSantis <a class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/alisondurkee\/2022\/04\/01\/florida-gov-desantis-wants-to-punish-disney-but-wont-go-after-its-corporate-tax-breaks\/?sh=18852e814745\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/alisondurkee\/2022\/04\/01\/florida-gov-desantis-wants-to-punish-disney-but-wont-go-after-its-corporate-tax-breaks\/?sh=18852e814745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/alisondurkee\/2022\/04\/01\/florida-gov-desantis-wants-to-punish-disney-but-wont-go-after-its-corporate-tax-breaks\/?sh=18852e814745\" aria-label=\"said Friday\">said Friday<\/a> those tax benefits likely aren\u2019t at any risk of going away, however, claiming those tax breaks are ones \u201cthat any business would be eligible for\u201d and there are \u201cno special tax breaks that are Disney-specific that we would contemplate\u2019 taking away,\u201d Durkee writes.<\/p>\n<p>Disney still sees opposing the Parental Rights in Education law as a matter of \u201cright and wrong,\u201d as former CEO Bob Iger called it.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;It&#8217;s about right and wrong,&#8221; Robert Iger, the former CEO of Disney, said. &#8220;To me, it wasn\u2019t politics. It was what is right and what is wrong, and that just seemed wrong. It seemed potentially harmful to kids.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/urwKmmPXbW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/t.co\/urwKmmPXbW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 USA TODAY (@USATODAY) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USATODAY\/status\/1509855596710805510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 1, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But, <a href=\"https:\/\/link.nationalreview.com\/view\/547f9caa3b35d0210c8bae61g7ih9.6v4y\/0be01301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as <em>National Review<\/em>\u2018s Jim Geraghty points out<\/a>, \u201cThis is a law, again, that forbids teaching sexual topics such as \u201cgender identity\u201d to children between the ages of\u00a0<em>four and nine<\/em>. For all their blathering, not a single Disney executive has attempted to explain what precisely is so \u2018harmful\u2019 and \u2018immoral\u201d about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis and Florida\u2019s Republicans are certain about the right and wrong of protecting the state\u2019s children from sexualization in schools against parents\u2019 permission. They\u2019re willing to do everything they can to combat Disney\u2019s wokeness, and they have some powerful tools they can use if they need to. But will it come down to those nuclear options?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The passing of Florida\u2019s Parental Rights in Education bill and Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 signing of it into law have escalated into a tense war between the increasingly solid red state<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1416726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1416726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1416726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1416726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1416726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}