DeSantis' Nuclear Option: What Would Happen If Florida Revoked Disney's Special Governing Arrangement?

BY CHRIS QUEEN APR 02, 2022

The passing of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of it into law have escalated into a tense war between the increasingly solid red state and The Walt Disney Corporation, which continues to double down on its heavily pro-LGBT stance.

Disney has vowed to fight for the repeal of the law despite the fact that it reflects the values of parents throughout the state — as well as many of the company’s cast members (which is what Disney calls its employees).

But, just as we’ve expected from Florida’s governor, DeSantis isn’t simply rolling over — he’s fighting back.

On Friday, my PJ Media colleague Rick Moran 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.

I predicted that this could be a nuclear option for DeSantis last month when I wrote, “If Disney did criticize Florida too harshly, the state could play hardball and threaten to revoke the legislation that created the company’s special quasi-governmental designation, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allows the company to operate with less interference from the state and county governments.”

Many of you have wondered what exactly that means, but first, let me give you a little background into Disney’s special governing authority, which is called the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

I’ve written tons about Disney history here at PJ Media and in my book Neon Crosses (which you really should buy). In Neon Crosses, I explained the concept behind the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

“Before 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.”

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.

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