DeSantis called on lawmakers to repeal the governing structure of Disney’s properties, they responded with what one critic called \
The Florida Senate voted Wednesday to strip the Walt Disney Company of special privileges in regulating and maintaining 38-square miles of Central Florida, home to its six theme parks and resorts. The 23 to 16 vote on SB 4 came one day after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wanted the Legislature to repeal the governing structure for Disney’s Florida properties. The entertainment giant became ensnared in election-year culture warfare when its CEO vowed to work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act – which opponents decried as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. While lawmakers debated the measure, the DeSantis campaign for governor sent out a fundraising pitch declaring Disney had picked a fight with “the wrong guy” and for contributors “to join the fight against the Democratic machine and woke Disney executives.” Democrats protested the Republicans’ rush to punish the state’s largest private employer for political speech degraded the legislative process. “With all due respect, this is not about meaningful legislative review. This is punishment. It is political theater, and we are better than this,” said Sen. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee. DeSantis vs. Disney: The measure by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Green Cove, includes a carrot and stick approach in that it does not go into effect until June 2023, time enough for Disney, in the words of the House sponsor, Rep Randy Fine, R-Brevard, to reconsider its criticism of Florida law.
