Florida Senate Approves Bill Nixing Disney’s Self-Govern Status

On Wednesday, the Florida Senate approved a bill removing the special self-govern status enjoyed by the Walt Disney Company. The state awarded this special arrangement over 50 years. However, Florida is currently feuding with Disney over a recently-passed parental rights law.

RELATED: Disney World Suspends Its Vaccine Mandate For Employees

Florida Senate Revokes Reedy Creek Improvement Act

In a margin of 23-16, the Republican-dominated state Senate passed the bill voiding the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.

This law, signed by Governor Claude Kirk in 1967, gave Disney its self-governing power over its huge Orlando property. Currently, the land houses the sprawling 25,000-acre Disney World entertainment park.

Back then, Orange and Osceola counties did not have the means to support a huge project such as Disney World.

Disney then lobbied the local government to create the Reedy Creek Act, which created a special taxing district composed of these two counties. In addition, the law allowed Disney to act as its own government in developing its park. 

DeSantis Calls on Florida Senate To Remove Disney’s Self-Govern Status

The Florida Senate’s passage of the new bill came the day after the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis called on lawmakers to strip Disney’s special status.

Consequently, the state Senate immediately took up the matter, which ended in a vote to remove Disney’s special status. He also said that he doesn’t support “special privileges in law” as a matter of principle.  

Earlier, DeSantis feuded with woke Disney management opposing Florida’s HB 1555, or the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The new law prohibits classroom instructions on sexual orientation and gender identity.

It only applies to students in the third grade and below. Upon passage of the so-called  “Don’t Say Gay” law, Disney issued a statement condemning it.

“The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law, Disney said.  

“Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts,” Disney said. “We remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members,” it added.  

DeSantis Doubles Down on Don’t Say Gay Law

Meanwhile, DeSantis remains committed to the implementation of HB 1557. Recent polling suggests that the law is popular in Florida, including among Democratic voters.

“Look, there’s policy disputes, and that’s fine,” DeSantis said. “But when you're trying to impose a woke ideology on our state, we view that as a significant threat. This wokeness will destroy this country if we let it run unabated. So in Florida, we take a very big stand against that,” he declared.

Additionally, DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw said that Florida wasn’t retaliating against Disney with the new Senate bill.

She said that it’s natural for governments to pass legislation that evens the playing field for all corporations. “It was unfortunate that Disney decided to wade into a political debate and attempt to overturn a common-sense law,” she said.

As such, the law went through the Senate in a straightforward manager and enjoyed support from Florida citizens. “In fact, it was Disney that ‘retaliated’ by publicly vowing to ‘repeal’ or have the law ‘struck down,” Pushaw said. 

Watch the Yahoo Finance news video reporting that Florida Senate passes bill to eliminate Disney special status: