Disney world's maybe getting a little smaller Governor
Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a bill to strip the
company of its self governing status. Statehou
lawmakers passed the measure, Thursday it's the latest
move in the battle between DeSantis and Disney wor
over the controversial so called Don't say Gay law
Newsy National correspondent Ha Bull joins us now
with the latest details. Hi Haylee. Yeah, good morning
Lindsey and Alex. So this bill dissolves a handful of
self governing districts, including Disney's. There are
questions though, about what impact this might have on
the surrounding local governments and taxpayers. And
what's interesting about this bill is that it takes
effect June 2023 but may leave open the possibility for
re establishment so to walk through a little bit of the
history of this, this goes back to the 19 sixties when
what's called the Reedy Creek Improvement Distric
That's Disney's local government essentially was
created and that gave the responsibilities of a count
government. So the district was responsible for paying
its taxes, maintaining water power, roadway, fire
protection, and the district also carries a significant
amount of debt. Some analysts estimate it's at least a
billion dollars. Now a bill sponsor says the district'
impacted would devolve into local governments,
including expenses, debt and revenue. So the Orange
County tax collector tweeted, they estimate the county
would have to take on $163 million per year from this
While Osceola County says it's going to start an
analysis to understand the impact and what costs may
shift to them. Now. A big question, of course, is wha
are the next steps going to look like? Especially
between now and 2023 there is a Florida statute that
requires residents vote if a special district is going
to be dissolved. But the bill's sponsor argues based on
the bill passed, that statute would not apply here
again. The dissolution would be effective next june so
keep in mind between now and then, there is still
another legislative session. So what negotiations, what
details are hammered out between now and then? Still
remains to be seen. And of course, the governor still
needs to sign the bill, which he is expected to do.
Now, supporters of this have said the district's
impacted, aren't consistent with state constitution and
argue that others don't get special treatment.
Meanwhile, critics have said this is political
retribution and await to detract from redistricting,
which lawmakers also voted on this week. Others are
simply shocked at this move, given Disney's economic
impact in the state through employment and tourism.
spoke with Florida political expert Professor Aubrey it
take a listen to what he had to say, why they did it,
then, you know what, why would to save this for the
republicans attack Disney like this? Given Disney's
importance and given Disney's support over all those
years. And I think the answer is that governor DeSanti
really thinks that this is a winning issue for him
among Republican voters, not just in Florida, but
Republican voters nationwide wh may participate in a
presidential primary in 2024. A so this is one of a
string of actions that Governor DeSantis has taken ove
the last couple of years to really appeal to those
republican voters across the country. Now, the original
reason for the special session, in which lawmakers
passed this bill regarding Disney was over the state's
congressional map. DeSantis Governor DeSantis vetoed
the maps that were passed during the regular sessi
His office submitting its own version for this special
session, analysts said it would likely give republicans
more districts and impact minority districts by cutting
them in half. That was also passed this week, as
representatives protested on the House floor. Now
again, the governor's office, a he has until May 6 to
sign both of these bills. We have not heard from Disney
at this point, but that is to be expected, given there
are likely a lot of lawyers, a lot of people looking us
over because Alex Lindsay, it is certainly a very
complex issue and decades here to go through to move
forward with it