Disney, a company worth billions, will be placed on an equal footing with all other businesses in the state once Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decides to cut it from historic taxpayer benefits.
Florida unveiled a plan on Friday to dissolve Disney’s special self-governing district and transfer the $700 million to $1 billion in debt the district has accumulated since 1967 to the struggling company.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) and other special corporate-governed districts will be abolished under a statute that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed last June.
According to Florida officials who spoke to Florida’s Voice News, the proposal would replace the RCID with a state-run board whose members would be selected by the governor.
The Governor’s team was concerned that local Democratic-run governments would yield to corporate pressure and shift Disney’s outstanding debt to Florida taxpayers, an outcome that DeSantis frequently said would never happen, as reported.
Speaking on Fox News, Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’ communications director said:
“The corporate kingdom has come to an end. Under the proposed legislation, Disney will no longer control its own government, will live under the same laws as everyone else, will be responsible for their outstanding debts, and will pay their fair share of taxes. Imposing a state-controlled board will also ensure that Orange County cannot use this issue as a pretext to raise taxes on Orange County residents.”
Due to its woke political messages, the Florida governor’s campaign against Disney began last year when he threatened to curtail the company’s privileges.
JUST IN: Gov. DeSantis’ office announces plan for state-controlled board to take over Disney’s “special district”, ensuring the corporation can no longer control its own government and is treated the same as other companies.
Statement from Communications Director Taryn Fenske: pic.twitter.com/P4GElrWvli
— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) January 6, 2023
Since March 2022, when then-CEO Bob Capek declared the company’s public opposition to Florida’s Florida Parental Rights in Education Act and a concurrent corporate donation of $5 million to “pro-LGBT+” organizations, Disney has faced criticism from conservatives across the country.
The “Don’t Say Gay” rule forbids public schools from restricting parents’ access to their own children’s school data, including health information, and forbids teaching about sex, gender, and sexuality to young children in primary schools.
However, a leaked video revealed a Disney executive claiming that her team has a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” and is constantly “adding queerness” to Disney content aimed at children, later that month.
SCOOP: I’ve obtained video from inside Disney’s all-hands meeting about the Florida parental rights bill, in which executive producer Latoya Raveneau says her team has implemented a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” and is regularly “adding queerness” to children’s programming. pic.twitter.com/eJnZMpKIXT
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022
According to a report by Bounding Into Comics, Disney also came under fire from the school advocacy group Parents Defending Education for utilizing drag queens to support “LGBT+ curricula”.
Disney’s market worth has decreased by $120 billion since that time when Capek’s move amounted to a concession to Disney corporate workers who had threatened him with walkouts and demonstrations if he did not oppose the bill. But if anyone at Disney has reservations about openly supporting the freedom of leftist educators to talk to pre-pubescent children about sex, they certainly aren’t saying so.
Returning CEO Bob Iger promised to intensify identity politics at a Q&A with Disney employees in November. He also said he would strive to strike a “fine balance” in his messaging to avoid offending customers further.
DeSantis also announced that he would be appointing writer Chris Rufo, who was at the forefront of reporting on Disney’s scandals as well as on the implementation of CRT, DEI, and radical gender theory nationally, to the Board of Trustees of the New College of Florida on the same day the plan for Reedy Creek was unveiled.
EXCLUSIVE: I have obtained video from returning Disney CEO Bob Iger’s first town hall with employees, in which he signals that he will work to “quiet things down” politically and move toward neutrality in the culture war.https://t.co/ZBGdHhxFVS pic.twitter.com/ZbMCZN4MlG
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) November 29, 2022
Sources: TheBeltwayReport, FoxNews, Bounding Into Comics.