The Mouse is not worried. The Walt Disney Company sent a letter to shareholders Tuesday saying that the theatrics performed by the uncostumed characters in Tallahassee was all for naught: no legislation can void the special jurisdictional district, as the Miami Herald reports.
In its only public statement issued to date about the controversy, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a division of Disney, noted that the original agreement prevented the state from dissolving the district until all debt is paid by Disney. Disney said it would continue to operate as normal.
This may be a blessing in disguise for Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis–and it may not have been an accidental oversight. The nullification of the nullification, which was signed by DeSantis last week, will mean residents of the counties around Disneyworld won’t pay an additional up to 25% in property taxes to cover the lost revenue from Disney payments.
Background: Republican DeSantis pushed through a piece of legislative that would have revoked a 55-year-old agreement between the state and Disney to develop Disneyworld. He did so because the Disney Company, which owns Disneyworld, spoke out against his homophobic legislation known as the Don’t Say Gay law that prevents teachers from addressing issues of gender and sexuality in schools. Disney presumably also objected to the banning of 57 math books because the state ridiculously claims they teach Critical Race Theory. (They don’t.). Of course, this crusade of DeSantis will also likely be overturned in a court.
It’s highly unlikely that lawyers for the Republicans who rushed this legislation into being wouldn’t have read the original Reedy Creek agreement, specifically for conditions that would allow for its cancelation. And it would seem like a MASSIVE oversight (and malpractice) for a politician to not consider the tax implications for residents.
In all likelihood, DeSantis–who is Yale and Harvard educated, not some rube, although he plays one in front of the cameras–concocted this entire drama to gain cred among the far-right fundamentalists. And he got it knowing that his theatrics would be remembered, but the fact that his order got overturned is forgotten. Think about it: would DeSantis risk upsetting the top employer in the state when he needs their–well, at least their ambivalence–for a future presidential run.