Florida Senate introduces amendment to undercut Disney’s last-minute power grab
Jack Birle
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Florida state GOP Sen. Blaise Ingoglia introduced an amendment to nullify an agreement the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board made with Disney. The agreement aimed to undercut the state takeover of the central Florida district encompassing the Walt Disney World Resort.
The introduced amendment comes a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced plans to revoke the last-minute agreement with what he called “a strong one-two punch” on Monday. DeSantis pledged to use legislative action and nullification by the board based on one of the “legal infirmities” in the agreement to achieve his goal.
DESANTIS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO REVOKE DISNEY AGREEMENT THAT UNDERMINED STATE DISTRICT
The amendment, which does not directly name the Reedy Creek Improvement District or the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, allows for an “independent special district” to be “precluded from complying with the terms of any development agreement” that was made in the three months before the effective date of a law changing how the governing body of the district is made up.
The amendment provides a district’s new governing body four months from when they take office to review and readopt any agreements from that three-month period.
“An independent special district is precluded from complying with the terms of any development agreement, and any other agreement for which the development agreement serves in whole or part as consideration, executed within 3 months preceding the effective date of a law modifying the manner of selecting members of the governing body of the independent special district from election to appointment or from appointment to election,” the amendment says.
“The newly elected or appointed governing body of the independent special district shall review within 4 months of taking office any development agreement and any other agreement for which the development agreement serves in whole or part as consideration and, after such review, shall vote on whether to seek readoption of such agreement,” the amendment continues.
Ingoglia, who introduced the amendment, was at DeSantis’s press conference Monday announcing the state’s intention to revoke the agreement. Ingoglia said Disney will not win the “fight” against the Florida governor.
“I know this governor well, so I have a couple of words for Disney. You are not going to win this fight. This governor will. And one word of advice to Disney corporation going forward: Just let it go. Let it go. That’s it,” Ingoglia said.
The agreement between the prior board and Disney was made on Feb. 8, and the legislation restructuring the district was signed into law by DeSantis on Feb. 27. The accord does not permit the board to make most changes without permission from the Walt Disney Company. The “King Charles clause” in the agreement ensures Disney has autonomy over the district, which includes the Walt Disney World Resort, until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England, living as of the date of this declaration.”
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“All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law,” Disney said in a statement to the Washington Examiner after the DeSantis-appointed board discovered the February agreement.
The battle between DeSantis and Disney, which led to Disney’s central Florida district being restructured, stemmed from the entertainment giant’s comments denouncing DeSantis’s push for the Parental Rights in Education Act last year. Disney had maintained full autonomy over the district since its creation in 1967.