Lawmakers moved forward with an amendment that would get rid of the development agreement hours after Disney over it.
Topline
The Florida Senate passed legislation late Wednesday that would get rid of a development agreement between Walt Disney World and its special district signed before the district’s board was replaced with government appointees, further escalating Florida Republicans’ feud with Disney despite the company filing a lawsuit over those attacks hours earlier.Key Facts
The Senate passed SB 1604 Wednesday in a 27-13 vote, which would nullify Disney’s development agreement by prohibiting such agreements if they’re enacted within three months of laws that modify how special district board members are elected.
The bill, which was amended to specifically address the Disney agreement, would also give boards four months to review development agreements after taking office and decide if they should be adopted.
Disney and the former board of the Reedy Creek Improvement District that oversees Walt Disney World—whose members were elected by Disney—enacted a development agreement that gives Disney broad authority over the district, empowering it to build on the land without the special district’s approval and have sole approval of buildings within the district even if they’re not Disney-owned.
The agreement was passed just before Florida lawmakers overhauled the laws governing Reedy Creek so that the board would now be appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), and the DeSantis-appointed board members discovered the development agreement soon after taking office, expressing outrage that it rendered them essentially powerless.
DeSantis’ board members voted Wednesday to revoke the agreement, prompting Disney to file a lawsuit in federal court against the governor and the special district board members minutes later.
