Florida Senate Votes to Terminate Disney World Special District

On Wednesday, April 20, Florida’s State Senate voted to bring the Reedy Creek Improvement District to an end.

Put forward by Florida lawmakers in the State Senate and House of Representatives, a bill named or similar to HB3C put forth by Representative Randy Fine would essentially repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967 and bring The Walt Disney Company‘s level of “Self-Governance” to an end.

BREAKING: Disney is a guest in Florida. Today, we remind them. @GovDeSantis just expanded the Special Session so I could file HB3C which eliminates Reedy Creek Improvement District, a 50 yr-old special statute that makes Disney to exempt from laws faced by regular Floridians.

— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) April 19, 2022

According to NBC, the bill passed in the Senate at a vote of 23-16. It now moves to the House of Representatives where it must be passed and then signed by Governor DeSantis before becoming law.

The New York Times elaborated further, saying if the bill is passed and signed into law, the self-governing privileges which exempt the Central Florida Mega-Resort from certain regulations and fees will be revoked starting June 2023.

This fight over Disney’s presence and privileges in Florida appears to have begun when the company announced it would use its money and influence to take actions necessary to overturn State legislation which is approved by a majority of Floridians. At the same time, the Florida Senate also passed a bill removing Disney’s previous exemption from a 2021 law fighting big-tech censorship, suggesting that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his government is working to make sure the entertainment and media conglomerate is put in check.

Several weeks ago, Gov. DeSantis spoke on Disney’s decision to work to overturn his state’s legislation, saying:

“This state is governed by the interest of the people of the state of Florida. It is not based on the demands of California corporate executives. They do not run this state, they do not control this state… The state of Florida is governed according to the interests of the people, not according to the political posturing of corporate executives in California. We will never allow corporate influence to repeal the substantive rights of parents in our state.”

However, it may be in the best interests of the State of Florida to allow the special district to exist under different circumstances, as The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries are paying all of Reedy Creek’s costs, including a long-term debt bond worth just under $1 billion, that would supposedly fall onto the taxpayers of Orange County and Osceola County.

Related: OpEd: Disney World Caught in Florida’s Fight Against Hollywood’s Agenda

We at Disney Fanatic will continue to keep an eye on this story and will update our readers as more developments come to light.