Florida state legislature passes bill to strip Disney of special status

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Republican-controlled Florida state legislature voted Thursday to strip Disney of its self-governance privileges as the state and one of its largest employers continue to wrangle over a controversial law.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been in a pitched battle with Walt Disney Co. over a recently-enacted law that critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law, is widely expected to lend his signature to the bill.

Florida's new education law restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms from kindergarten through the third grade and includes ambiguously-worded language that education for older students must be "age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

Disney, which is among the law's most prominent opponents, said it would suspend all political donations in the state following a long history of funding campaigns on both sides of the aisle and would instead support organizations working to overturn the law.

The legislature’s retaliation would nix the special status of the 25,000-acre Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is Disney's 55-year-old self-governance structure, as well as several other districts, by 2023.

The bill came on the back of widespread Republican support despite warnings that it could have significant and unpredictable economic implications for the southern state. The potential fallout remains unclear.

Disney operates a series of theme parks near Orlando, Florida, including its Walt Disney World Resort, which attract tens of millions of tourists to Florida every year and employed over 60,000 Floridians in 2021.

For its part, Disney has not commented on the state's action. The company's stock was down nearly 3% on Thursday.