Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs bill to nullify Disney's Reedy Creek agreements

May 05, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

Posted: Friday May 5, 2023 2:06pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has wasted no time signing the bill attempting to nullify Disney's February 8 Reedy Creek developer agreement.

DeSantis received the SB 1604 bill this afternoon after it passed the Florida house and senate and was given until May 20 to sign it into law.

The bill contains specific text to target Disney's final agreements with Reed Creek Improvement District, which you can see below.

(7) REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.—An independent
343 special district is precluded from complying with the terms of
344 any development agreement, or any other agreement for which the
345 development agreement serves in whole or part as consideration,
346 which is executed within 3 months preceding the effective date
347 of a law modifying the manner of selecting members of the
348 governing body of the independent special district from election
349 to appointment or from appointment to election. The newly
350 elected or appointed governing body of the independent special
351 district shall review within 4 months of taking office any
352 development agreement or any other agreement for which the
353 development agreement serves in whole or part as consideration
354 and shall, after such review, vote on whether to seek readoption
355 of such agreement. This subsection shall apply to any
356 development agreement that is in effect on, or is executed
357 after, the effective date of this section. This subsection
358 expires July 1, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
359 through reenactment by the Legislature.

Rep. Anna Eskamani reported on Twitter that the governor signed the bill just before 2pm. Unlike his previous bill signings regarding Reedy Creek, DeSantis did not hold a press conference to mark the event.

SB 1604 bill revokes Disney's final February 8 developer agreement and restrictive covenants with Reedy Creek. According to DeSantis, it is Florida law that the legislature or the governing body can revoke developer agreements.

It isn't clear how this DeSantis-backed bill will impact Disney's latest legal move, or how it fits in with legal efforts by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to enforce its position to nullify Disney's agreements with Reedy Creek.

The DeSantis-appointed board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said earlier this week that they will countersue Disney in an attempt to "uphold and enforce the board's April 26, 2023 legislative findings relating to the February 8, 2023 development agreement and declaration of restrictive covenants."

 

The Walt Disney Company filed a lawsuit in a Florida Federal Court last week, naming Florida Governor and the entire Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.

Disney claims in its lawsuit filed in a federal court yesterday that there has been "A targeted campaign of government retaliation-orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech-now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."

In the lawsuit, Disney is asking for the court to declare that the February 8 contracts remain in effect and enforceable.

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Stripes4 hours ago

The delay in the federal suit also makes it much more likely that DeSantis will be gone when the ruling is overturned and there won’t be any political willpower to take Disney on again.

Bullseye19674 hours ago

It also happened right before a couple other things. You may want to check your calendar. You do realize those depositions were not that day, but had been postponed a few days previous because of court filings? I love the smell of pixie dust! It is obvious to all that the mouse forced the state of Florida to capitulate on every point and forced them to win on almost everything they wanted. I don't blame Disney for settling because they needed to move on., but as far as what they were looking for in state court, they got a tiny portion. Sometimes you make the best of what you can get.

GoneViral4 hours ago

And that somehow happened the day before they would force the involved parties in the Florida government to testify under oath. What remarkable timing!

Bullseye19674 hours ago

It is his interpretation. Who made you in charge if it is reasonable or not? He agreed you have a difference of opinion. Not taking a side here, and I know your experience, but he is entitled to think what he wants. There are no hard cold facts in this exchange, because none of us know what happened behind the scenes. He took one take from Ronnie's statement and you took another.

GoneViral4 hours ago

These posts are amazing satire! Well done! You take the grifter side whose ethics commissioner got busted for grifting on an ethics violation and act like they're totally clean. Then, you take the side who just opened every document and came back clean. Then, you argue that it's suspicious how clean-cut the good people are, so they must be up to something. I think you're officially ready for your Wrestlemania moment! Tell that goody-goody Codie Rhodes that you're not falling for his nice guy act!

GoneViral4 hours ago

Yes, people are always saying that about...Ron DeSantis?! Seriously, I busted up at this.

Tom P.5 hours ago

Disagree. But I can't to much farther without veering away from the Disney discussion and going straight into politics. Suffice it to say, I think you are wrong.

Batman'sParents5 hours ago

This is spot on. I would also add even that absent TWDC preceeding with the suit that allows for restoration of the original legislation, this settlement is the most realistic to settle the lawsuit. The only ways that RCID gets restored is via an act of the legislature or restoration from the courts. While both shouldn't be ruled out, the first one is highly improbable and has it's own tangled web of issues and the second one, is time consuming. Working out a direct settlement that requires little legislative input with CFTOD and can offer immediate remedies to the district, state, and the TWDC was the most pragamatic path.

Chi847 hours ago

But what you’re proposing isn’t a reasonable interpretation. It’s reading way too much into “Yeah, yeah. No, I would” when asked if he would talk to Iger. The interviewer didn’t ask about or even mention the lawsuit or negotiations in his question.

WoundedDreamer8 hours ago

Yeah, but doesn't that run counter to the "he refuses to talk to Iger" narrative? And what would they talk about? It had to be over a settlement agreement. He was already willing to talk and move forward back in August of 2023. I guess it's a difference in interpretation.

Dcgc288 hours ago

Honestly it’s going to be business as usual moving forward. Florida needs Disney and Disney needs Florida. It was inevitable that it would pass in some sort. The real winners here are the state of Florida and Disney because they’re going to go back to printing money with each other. Oh and I guess the people who lean politically with Desantis. But they only win vicariously. They’re still getting robbed by the state and companies involved in the situation.

Chi848 hours ago

No. Politicians, especially ones who are lawyers, are very good at limiting their answers to only the question asked. He was asked if he had spoken with Iger and said no. He was asked if he would talk to him and he said “Yeah, yeah. No, I would” There’s reasonable no way that answer can be stretched out to become an offer to engage in settlement negotiations regarding the lawsuit. Maybe he meant he would talk to Iger to tell him there’s no way he would ever settle the lawsuit so Disney should just give up.

WoundedDreamer8 hours ago

What would Iger and DeSantis talk about other than a settlement and moving on? It does sound like an awkward phone call, though. 🤔 🤣

WoundedDreamer8 hours ago

You're not wrong about this. I do think of the RCID as having a been a vestigial organ of sorts. At the time it was important to Walt Disney World's success, but as things have evolved it became less important. That doesn't necessarily justify its removal, but I'm optimistic about Disney's ability to navigate things moving forward.