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Credit: NBC, Asher Heimermann via Wikimedia Commons, edited by ITMThe Orange County State Legislative Delegation has passed a bill to dissolve the controversial Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) and reinstate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special tax area run by the Walt Disney Company for years. This is a new blow to Governor Ron DeSantis, whose hand-picked CFTOD board of supervisors has been criticized for months.
At today’s legislative session, Senator Linda Stewart (D) sponsored a local, untitled bill to reverse the dissolution of the former Reedy Creek, citing the CFTOD’s lack of forward momentum in the near year that it has been in place. Stewart is quoted (per Florida Politics) with the succinct, “It’s not working, and we have had ten months.”
Related: “Give It Back To Disney!” Reedy Creek Locals Want DeSantis Out
The proposed bill aims to do the following:
“[R]epealing chapter 2023-5, Laws of Florida, which established the Central Florida Tourism Oversight, District; reviving, reenacting, and readopting chapter 67-764, Laws of Florida, and the decree in chancery No. 66-1061 entered by the Circuit Court in and for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida on May 13, 1966, relating to the Reedy Creek Improvement District; reconstituting the Reedy Creek Improvement District as it existed as of February 26, 2023; terminating the terms of office of the Board of Supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District; providing transitional provisions; providing for construction; providing an effective date.”
Effectively, the proposal would be something of a reset, getting rid of the board of directors appointed by Governor DeSantis and replacing it with the pre-existing status quo.
The full proposal can be read here:
Senator Stewart had previously introduced this bill back in November, but it was prevented from going to a vote by a mass walk-out of Republican legislators, a tactic that prevented the full legal quorum necessary for passing bills. This time, however, it managed to get through.
Not without some pushback, however. Representative Carolina Amesty (R) was reportedly perturbed that she had not been contacted regarding the bill (despite it having been previously introduced); Amesty represents Florida District 45, where much of Walt Disney World is located. Amesty is quoted as saying, “Disney is very important to our district…If there is any policy to do with the district, I’d like to be contacted beforehand.”
Now that the bill to dissolve the CFTOD and reinstate Reedy Creek has passed on a county level, it will go on to state legislature, which is overwhelmingly controlled by the Florida GOP, DeSantis’ own party. That puts it at a severe disadvantage in becoming a law and restoring the Walt Disney Company to its former authority.
Related: DeSantis Board Spent Hundreds of Thousands of Taxpayer Dollars To Accuse Disney of Mishandling Money
Since it was formed, the CFTOD has been a target for criticism. It has been accused of insider dealing and ethics violations, and its entire existence is part of a lawsuit in which Disney claims Governor DeSantis created it in an unconstitutional act of political reprisal. Then there’s the mass walk-outs of longtime employees amidst allegations of incompetency, not to mention eyebrows raised at the six-figure salaries of board members. We’ll just have to keep watching for what happens next in the ongoing saga of DeSantis, Disney, and the CFTOD.
Inside the Magic reached out to Senator Stewart and Representative Amesty for comment, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.
Do you think Reedy Creek should be reinstated? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!