DeSantis signs bill removing Disney's self-governing privileges

Disney World
(Image credit: BanksPhotos/iStock)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday abolishing the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which gave Disney the power to act as a local government in the area around Disney World, Fox News reported.

Now that the special district, which was established in 1967, has been eliminated, "Orange County says it will have to take on the costs for municipal services to theme parks that Disney had paid for through Reedy Creek," according to The New York Times. DeSantis says Disney will "pay more taxes" under the new policy.

DeSantis targeted Disney after the company announced its intention to oppose Florida's parental rights in education law, referred to by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

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"You're a corporation based in Burbank, California, and you're gonna marshal your economic might to attack the parents of my state. We view that as a provocation, and we're going to fight back against that," DeSantis said.

Also on Friday, DeSantis approved Florida's new congressional map, which favors Republicans, and the "Stop W.O.K.E. Act," which "prohibits critical race theory from being discussed in classrooms and in corporate settings, such as employee trainings," according to Fox News.

Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.