Florida lawmakers are expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to give Gov. Ron DeSantis new power over the state’s most iconic theme parks amid his ongoing feud with Disney.
Under a fast-tracked bill that could be headed to the Republican governor’s desk by the end of the week, the state would take over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the 55-year-old government body that has effectively given Disney control over the land around its Orlando-area theme parks. The district’s existing board, made up of individuals with close ties to Disney, would be replaced by a five-member board hand-picked by DeSantis.
The state House, where Republicans hold a supermajority, will take up the bill Thursday with a vote by the state Senate likely within the next 36 hours. If the measure passes the GOP-led legislature, it will go to DeSantis for final approval. He is expected to sign it.
“There’s a new sheriff in town, and that’s just the way it’s going to be,” DeSantis said at Wednesday news conference.
The move to take over Reedy Creek is the latest step in a yearlong spat between DeSantis and Disney over a bill to restrict certain classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. DeSantis signed the bill into law over the objections of Disney’s then-CEO Bob Chapek. Disney in a statement vowed to help get the law repealed or struck down by the courts.
DeSantis responded to the threat by calling on lawmakers to strip Disney of its special governing powers, which they did in a special session last year, voting to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District at the end of May 2023.
However, while DeSantis quickly turned his takedown of Disney into fodder for stump speeches and fundraising emails, lawmakers at the time failed to address what would come next for the special district. Neither DeSantis nor lawmakers…
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