Tag: Reedy Creek Improvement District

Florida Judge Declines to Toss Lawsuit Challenging Disney’s Last-Minute Effort to Maintain Self-Governing Status

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A Florida state judge declined to toss a lawsuit challenging Disney’s last-minute effort to skirt the state legislature and maintain its self-governing status through an agreement it made with the prior board overseeing Walt Disney World.

Disney entered into agreement with the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which had authority over the park, on Feb. 8, 2023 — just days before the state legislature approved a bill reforming RCID’s structure to strip Disney’s self-governing status. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District sued May 1 over the agreement, which would allow Disney to maintain control, calling it a “backroom deal” that is “not even worth the paper” it is printed on.

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

The Center Square

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill ending the Walt Disney Company’s special self-governing status.

“Allowing a corporation to control its own government is bad policy, especially when the corporation makes decisions that impact an entire region,” DeSantis said in an announcement about the new law, which came largely in response to Disney’s advocacy against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, called the “Don’t say gay bill” by critics.

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Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Filed Against DeSantis over Reedy Creek Special Status Abolishment

Peter D'Abrosca

A lawsuit filed be residents of Orange and Osceola counties against Gov. Ron DeSantis in the wake of the Governor’s battle with Disney has been struck down. 

Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Cecilia Maria Altonaga Tuesday issued her order summarily dismissing the lawsuit, which challenged DeSantis after he stripped Reedy Creek, home to Disney’s theme park, of its special status. 

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DeSantis Threatens Disney’s Special Governing District

Steve Stewart
Ron DeSantis

The latest escalation in the feud between Governor DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company over the Parental Rights in Education bill involves the possibility of repealing a law that gives Disney special governing privileges.

The  Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) was formed in 1967 to serve the interests of Disney by a special Act of the Florida Legislature and subsequently validated by the Florida Supreme Court.

The arrangements allow Disney to shape the park environment without government oversight.

Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor, told the Washington Post that “It’s legal magic. The Reedy Creek government can regulate land use, provide police and fire services, license the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, build roads, lay sewer lines, construct waste-treatment plants, carry out flood projects–even build an airport or nuclear plant, all without local or state approval.”

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