Florida lawmaker votes to repeal special district for Walt Disney World after company opposes “Don’t Say Gay” law

Disney is on the verge of losing a 55-year-old special district covering Walt Disney World in Orlando, as Florida lawmakers decided Thursday to punish the company for violating a new state parental rights law that naysayers have called. “to say no”. Gay law.

Florida House voted against the 70-38 county dissolution bill, as well as another that was created before 1968. The Senate approved the event on Wednesday.

Governor Ron Desantis, a Republican who is monitoring the 2024 presidential offer, supports the repeal attempt and asked lawmakers to consider it during their special session this week. He accused the company, one of the state’s largest employers, of “waking up,” but LGBTQ + activists see the fathers’ rights bill as another threat to children, lesbians and transgender people. .

Disney has not yet commented on the move.

Disney criticizes the public stance of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, but NBCUniversal and other studios shy away from the picture.

The Disney property has been covered by the Reed Creek Improvement District since 1967, giving it autonomy over land use and environmental issues and allowing it to be tax-free on municipal government bonds. Democrats said the abolition of the constituency could leave Ossetia and the Orange states owed nearly $ 1 billion in bonds.

Advocates of his case worked to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Under the terms of the legislation, the districts would be dissolved starting June 1, 2023, but their reactivation may be required thereafter.

But the move is seen as an attempt to punish Disney for breaking the law.

Lloyd Blankfein, senior president of Goldman Sachs, tweeted Thursday:In 1967, Disney World gave Florida special tax and government status. Maybe it was bad policy. But cancel why @GovRonDeSantis Protesting Disney’s stance on inappropriate legislation, smacks of government retaliation for its use of free speech. “Bad looks for the conservative.”

Ron Desantis says Disney “overstepped the line” against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill; Complaints Company will never call legislative leader on bill –

But the attack on Disney raised the profile of the away team and made the company a target. “Disney and other awakened companies will no longer run away from their uncontrolled lobbying campaigns,” she wrote during a fundraiser this week, according to the Associated Press.

Walt Disney authorized the Florida estate to build a futuristic city, but those plans were abandoned after his death in 1966. In the 1960s, the company worried about autonomy, especially on issues such as land use, to make the difference. In Anaheim, where a slew of motels and tourist shops have sprung up around Disneyland since it opened in 1955.

Walt Disney World opened its doors in 1971.