In a move widely seen as retaliation, Gov. Ron DeSantis asked Florida lawmakers on Tuesday to consider the “termination” of self-governing privileges that Disney World has held in the Orlando area for 55 years. He acted after Disney, the state’s largest private employer, paused political donations in Florida and condemned a new state education law that opponents call “Don’t Say Gay.”
On Wednesday, the Florida Senate voted 23 to 16 to revoke the privileges starting in June of next year. The Florida House must now take up the measure.
The potential impact on Disney World is unclear. The privileges exempt the resort from certain regulations and fees.
The Florida Legislature had already been scheduled to convene this week for a special session on congressional redistricting. On Tuesday, Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, issued a proclamation allowing the Republican-controlled body to also take up bills that would eliminate special tax districts that were created before 1968.
Florida has hundreds of such districts, but almost all were set up after that date — with one of the exceptions covering Disney World. It was put together in 1967 and essentially allows the megaresort, which employs roughly 80,000 people, to function as its own municipal government.
Disney’s special zone is called the Reedy Creek Improvement District and gives the company considerable control over the planning and permitting process for construction on its 25,000-acre property, including road building. Reedy Creek also levies taxes on Disney to pay for the resort’s own fire and medical response battalions, among other services. Disney World even generates some of its own electricity through Reedy Creek.
The elimination of Reedy Creek would require the two counties that contain Disney World to step in and provide the services, which would probably lead to increased taxes for residents, according to James C. Clark, a professor at the University of Central Florida. Disney could apply to re-establish the district if it is eliminated.
Mr. DeSantis and Disney began to publicly spar last month after the company condemned the Parental Rights in Education law, which among many things restricts discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms.
“Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the Legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that,” Disney said on March 28, when Mr. DeSantis signed the legislation into law. (Disney had initially tried not to take a side on the measure, at least publicly, which prompted an employee revolt.)
In response, Mr. DeSantis took aim at Disney, chiding it as “woke” and sending a fund-raising email to supporters saying it had “lost any moral authority to tell you what to do.” A couple of Florida legislators then began threatening to revoke Disney World’s special tax district.
Disney declined to comment.
