The Florida legislature on Tuesday began swooping in to help Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis seize back control of the board that oversees Walt Disney World's special tax district.
GOP Sen. Blaise Ingoglia has filed an amendment saying that a district cannot comply with any land agreements made three months before a new board is installed.
The amendment aims to nullify Disney's actions from February, in which the mega-corporation stealthily rendered toothless a board DeSantis appointed to make decisions about its land.
It's not clear whether the legislative maneuver will work. Democratic State Rep Anna Eskamani, who represents Orlando, said on Twitter that the newly filed amendment "seems like it's going to run into Constitutional problems with impairing contracts."
—Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) April 18, 2023
Eskamani was referring to the US Constitution's Contract Clause, which prohibits state governments from specifically legislating to interfere with private contract rights, except in emergency situations.
Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment on the amendment. Disney has previously said its move was "discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums." On Monday, the company publicized its first LGBTQ event at Disneyland in California, shortly after the DeSantis press conference.
DeSantis previewed the amendment during a press conference on Monday, when he expressed confidence that the bill he previously signed into law, giving him the authority to appoint a board to oversee Disney's district, was already sound. The legislature would pass a separate amendment as a precaution, DeSantis said.
Members of the DeSantis-appointed board are scheduled to hold their next meeting Wednesday. At that time, DeSantis said, the group would also work separately to void the Disney loophole that stripped them of their power.
It'll consider other acts of retribution, DeSantis suggested, such as considering the possibility of building on the 40 square miles of land that borders Disney. DeSantis has floated ideas such as a rival theme park, a national park, or a state prison.
The governor has been trying to tear down a decades-long provision that gives Disney special self-governing privileges in Florida ever since the company's executives publicly pledged to work to repeal a contentious schools curriculum bill that Democrats have termed "Don't Say Gay."
Unlike rival parks Universal Studios and Sea World, Disney doesn't have to run their plans by zoning commissions or building-inspection departments. This makes their operations run more efficiently, saving them time and money.
"We had a corporation out there that was basically making their own rules," Ingoglia said Monday at DeSantis' press conference. "They were their own government. And I would argue that that is an egregious form of corporate welfare."
Members of the legislature, which has a GOP supermajority, will also introduce a bill next week that would impose new inspection rules on Disney, including on its monorail system and its rides. Large theme parks such as Disney and Universal Studios currently test the safety of their own rides, and the forthcoming bill would give the state Department of Agriculture authority to do so.
