Here you go (I think this is the same thing Len posted about this morning) -
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis caused heads to spin on May 16 when he hinted that the state could be the new overseer of Walt Disney World's (NYSE: DIS) Reedy Creek Improvement District in Orlando.
Specifically, experts are curious how the state could make such moves and what kind of fallout there may be, as the Reedy Creek Improvement District area also consists of two municipalities in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, where its largest 'resident' is Disney.
DeSantis was clear on his stance of not allowing local governments — Orange and Osceola counties — to take over control. "More likely, the state will simply assume control and make sure that we're able to impose the law and make sure we're collecting the taxes ... There's a whole bunch of different things that we will be able to do. I'd much rather have the state leading that effort than potentially having local governments … I'm worried that they would use that as a pretext to raise taxes on people when that's what they would want to do anyways, and then try to blame Reedy Creek. We’re not going to give them that opportunity," DeSantis said, during an event at Seminole State College while making an announcement regarding nursing education.
State officials told
Orlando Business Journal, via a May 16 email, that the governor's statements at the event were his latest on the topic. Also, both Orange and Osceola counties said they were monitoring the situation.
But DeSantis' latest stance makes little sense, said Disney experts with knowledge of government workings.
"The state of Florida can't simply force a hostile takeover of two Florida cities chartered under Florida law," said Chad Emerson, a Disney expert who authored the book,
Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World.
"Both of these local municipal governments are protected under Florida law. There is no legal or regulatory path for the Florida state Legislature to accomplish what they are seeking to do. Simply put, the Florida Constitution protects private businesses from big government intervention like this," he told
OBJ.
One thing that 's guaranteed is that whatever DeSantis and the state of Florida come up with, it'll be distinct, said Aubrey Jewett, associate professor and assistant school director at the University of Central Florida's School of Politics, Security and International Affairs.
"We don't know for sure what the state will come up with, but it is probably safe to say that it will be unique since Reedy Creek was unique, and dissolving it as political punishment in a haphazard fashion without a plan is certainly unique," Jewett told
OBJ. "That said, since we don't know the details yet, it is hard to say exactly how unique the arrangement will be."
Jewett said Disney could file a lawsuit at some point, but it may instead choose to find a way to work with the state to get most of what it had with Reedy Creek back. He said many community development districts around the state operate close to how Reedy Creek does, so it's quite possible that Disney can come away with a consolation prize of a pared-down version.
Walt Disney Co.'s Walt Disney World — the nation's largest single-site employer, with nearly 70,000 Orlando workers — has four local theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Walt Disney World alone is the top generator for visitation to Orlando, with more than 50 million people going through its turnstiles in previous years — many of those repeat visitors.
Disney also owns two area water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, as well as several themed hotels, golf courses, a camping resort, timeshare properties, a residential community called Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort, ESPN Wide World of Sports and the Disney Springs dining/shopping/entertainment district."
. Good job simplifying it
