The Reedy Creek Improvement District, a semi-private, special-purpose government, is controlled by Disney and spans 39 square miles. If it is repealed by GOP lawmakers, Disney World's property will fall under the control of Orange and Osceola counties. Such private governments are common in Florida, which has more than 600 community development districts managing and infrastructure. It also has the authority to tax the land and use the revenue to provide essential public services and operate and maintain all public roads and bridges. The district is governed by a Board of Supervisors selected by its 19 landowners, the biggest and most influential of them being Disney World. Under the deal, Disney runs the district as a local government, collecting taxes and guaranteeing public services, such as garbage collection and water treatment. Republican Representative Randy Fine, 48, (pictured) that Florida should eliminate Disney's self-governing status because other companies don't have it and Floridians have rejected it. He said: 'People have wanted to deal with the special district for decades, but Disney had the political power to prevent it for decades.' He also said the theme park is trying to 'bring California values to Florida' If passed, it could potentially go into effect on June 1, 2023. The bill will now go onto the state's senate. 'Floridians have said: "Alright, you're a guest in our state, maybe you don't deserve these special privileges anymore.'įlorida lawmakers have voted 23-16 to strip the company of its self-governing status. What's changed is trying to bring California values to Florida,' Fine told CNBC. 'People have wanted to deal with the special district for decades, but Disney had the political power to prevent it for decades. 'They don't get the "Jurassic Park Improvement District" to regulate themselves, neither does Legoland or SeaWorld or Bush Gardens. The creation of the district in Florida was a crucial element in the company's plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s.įine also said he believed in 'free markets' and that the 'state of Florida for 55 years has given Disney special privileges that its competitors down the street don't get.' It is a semi-private, special-purpose government and is controlled by Disney and spans 39 square miles. However, the districts are still subject to property tax and inspections, CNBC reported.ĭisney's land sits within the Reedy Creek Improvement District. We said some of these things just don't make sense, not only in Disney, but in five other special districts around the state,' the representative said.įlorida's special districts were established in 1967, giving the districts near-total control over the area, which excludes them from state regulations. 'And they had all sorts of weird things in them - for example, Disney had the right to take land outside of their district, they had the right to build a nuclear power plant without state oversight, they didn't have to follow zoning laws or safety codes.
And we found that six of them had been created before the Florida constitution was actually put in place.
'When Disney kicked the hornets nest several weeks ago, we started taking a look at special districts. Republican Representative Randy Fine, 48, told CNBC's Squawk Box that Florida should eliminate Disney's self-governing status after the company injected itself into the 'Don't Say Gay' bill debate. Published: 18:10 BST, 21 April 2022 | Updated: 21:55 BST, 21 April 2022Ī Florida lawmaker has slammed Disney for wading into the political debate surrounding the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill and says the company is a guest in the state and doesn't deserve special privileges.