Gabrielle Russon
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday that cancels Disney’s agreements with its outgoing board, as the Governor also said he is confident his appointed Disney World governing board will prevail in its lawsuit against Disney.
DeSantis signed SB 1604 Friday after the Legislature passed the bill Thursday evening. Tucked into SB 1604 was a DeSantis-backed amendment that retroactively rolled back agreements Disney made with its old Reedy Creek Improvement Board in the weeks before the state fired those members and DeSantis appointed his own board members in their place.
“The Legislature acted appropriately,” DeSantis said Friday hours before he signed the bill. “Make no mistake about it. The reason why the Legislature had to act was not because of anything we did. It was basically born out of Disney’s arrogance, that they would be able to subcontract around the duly enacted laws of the state of Florida. That’s wrong.”
The Disney agreements are also at the center of a new lawsuit.
The state-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight board sued Disney in Orange Circuit Court this week, saying Disney “covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh hour deals” with the outgoing Disney-picked board before the state took the board over. Disney’s agreements took away the new board’s power, board members said.
Responding to that suit following Sine Die, DeSantis said, “I believe they will win because I think that this development agreement was fatally flawed.”
Some Democrats and a few Republicans have cautioned DeSantis about picking a fight with Disney, the largest single taxpayer in Central Florida and its biggest employer with 75,000 workers. Disney CEO Bob Iger called it “anti-Florida” and “anti-business” for the Governor to target Disney after all the jobs and tourists Disney World has brought to the state over the past 50 years.
DeSantis, who many predict will run for President, has used his cultural war platform to gain national attention.
He brought up his fight with Disney again in his Friday morning remarks.
“We fought very hard for children. We have a fundamental disagreement in this state, in terms of what we think is appropriate for children and what the people in Burbank, California, think is appropriate for children,” DeSantis said. “It’s wrong to be sexualizing these kids. it’s wrong to have gender ideology, and telling kids that they may have been born in the wrong body.”
DeSantis did not mention Disney’s federal lawsuit filed against him in his Friday remarks.
Disney is suing DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight board members in federal lawsuit that accuses officials of retaliating against the company for exercising its freedom of speech when Disney opposed the state’s Parental Rights in Education measure, known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” law.
13 comments
Michael K
May 5, 2023 at 2:21 pm
George Orwell wrote “doublespeak” as satire – he never intended “1984” and other works to become a handbook for Republican far right extremists seeking total control.
Ron DeSantis wears High Heels
May 5, 2023 at 2:27 pm
I predict his own words in his book where he flat out admitted that this entire thing was out of pure retaliation to target Disney’s speech will come back to bite this moron in the a$$.
Dont Say FLA
May 5, 2023 at 2:37 pm
The more I learn about Rhon DasPanties, the less I think of Yarvard and Hale
TonyN
May 5, 2023 at 3:00 pm
It would not surprise me to see Disney get this moved to Federal court since it’s a civil case.
Joe
May 6, 2023 at 7:38 pm
Disney already filed in federal court, Depantsless has imbecile yes-men for lawyers.
Billy the Bamboozler
May 5, 2023 at 3:02 pm
I predict he will go judge shopping and his cousin Leroy will be on the bench.
tom palmer
May 5, 2023 at 3:15 pm
I’d like to see what the Vega odds makers conclude.
corruption and abuse of power in Florida
May 5, 2023 at 9:35 pm
lol he took him to court in state court, but he will lose at the federal level because he is clearly violated the US Constitution
Goingto Universal
May 6, 2023 at 7:54 am
The misguided knuckleheads at the Tragic Kingdom continue to lose as they’re on the wrong side of Floridians, common sense parents and morality. Florida is better off without Iger’s woke messaging and crappy made in China products.
Dont Say FLA
May 6, 2023 at 10:02 am
I must have missed something. Which battle did Disney lose? Is their park empty? Are their profits down? Those are the things that would indicate a lack of support among parents and families. Rhon DasPanties’ little battles mean only that Rhon is not strong enough backboned to face any actual opposition. Rhon succeeds only in the echo chamber of the GOP supermajority state government that pays him to go on a world campaigncation with the family at the expense of all Floridian taxpayers. Folks want to complain about so-called Illegals not paying taxes, but these same folks aren’t complaining about Rhon DasPanties spending tax money on a book signing campaign tour. What is really going on there, one might wonder.
Joe
May 6, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Lol, ok ponytail weirdo
Mr. Haney
May 8, 2023 at 10:13 am
Uh wrong again Brownshirt.
Joe
May 6, 2023 at 7:34 pm
How about federal court you short grooming phony??
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