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Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, signed a bill on Monday that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district, punishing the company over its opposition to a state law that restricts sexual orientation and gender identity discussions in schools.
“The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said during a press event at Lake Buena Vista near Orlando. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”
The bill authorizes DeSantis, a Republican, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services that the Disney district provides in its sprawling theme park properties in Florida. The quasi-government entity also has the authority to raise revenue to pay outstanding debt and cover the cost of services.
“We have a situation here that was basically indefensible from a policy perspective,” DeSantis said. “How do you give one theme park its own government and then treat all the other theme parks differently? We believe that that was not good policy.”
Disney did not immediately comment on Monday.
State Republicans last year targeted Disney after it publicly clashed with DeSantis, who is widely considered to be running for president in 2024, over a law that restricts classroom instruction of gender and sexual orientation, known by its opponents as the “don’t say gay” measure.
In March, Disney’s then chief executive officer, Bob Chapek, publicly voiced disappointment with the bill limiting LGBTQ+ discussion in schools, saying he called DeSantis to express concern about the legislation becoming law.
Political observers viewed the bill as retaliation for Disney’s views. DeSantis moved quickly to penalize the company, directing lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature to dissolve Disney’s self-governing district during a special legislative session, beginning a closely watched restructuring process. DeSantis and other Republican critics of Disney slammed the company for coming out against the education law, calling it a purveyor of “woke” ideology that injects inappropriate subjects into children’s entertainment.
Speakers at the bill-signing ceremony included a parent who criticized Disney for speaking out against the state’s education bill, saying the company “chose the wrong side of the moral argument”. Another person who identified himself as a longtime Disney theme park employee took issue with the company’s policies regarding vaccinations.
Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida with close to 75,000 employees, and the theme park drew 36.2 million visitors in 2021, according to the Themed Entertainment Association.
The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the 55-year-old Disney government is known, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the company’s plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialised, however; instead, it morphed into the Epcot theme park.
The Disney government allows the company to provide services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure.
In taking on Disney, DeSantis furthered his reputation as a culture warrior willing to battle perceived political enemies and wield the power of state government to accomplish political goals, a strategy that is expected to continue ahead of his potential White House run.
The feud also reinforced the governor’s brash leadership style, and the coming months will be critical to DeSantis as he builds his profile out beyond Florida. He is expected to utilize the coming regular legislative session, which begins next week, to bolster his conservative agenda before he announces his candidacy for president.
At his news conference, DeSantis said he would appoint Tampa attorney Martin Garcia as the chairman of the district’s new governing board, along with new board members Bridget Ziegler, a conservative school board member and wife of the Florida Republican party chairman, Christian Ziegler; Brian Aungst Jr, an attorney and son of a former two-term Republican mayor of Clearwater; Mike Sasso, an attorney; and Ron Peri, head of the Gathering USA ministry.
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