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☆ Ron DeSantis orders Florida's inspector general to see if Disney execs were personally involved with making the loophole to thwart him
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis wants Florida's inspector general to look into the loophole that a Disney-backed board used to thwart his plan. The last-minute agreement hamstrings DeSantis' board, keeping them from having any real power for decades. DeSantis asked the state's inspector general to specifically look into whether Disney's executives, staff, or agents were involved in the scheme. In a letter dated Monday, DeSantis called on Inspector General Melinda Miguel to look into the agreement, which he said was "designed to usurp the authority of the CFTOD board." Still, the feud between DeSantis and Disney is likely entering a new phase, as the governor declared last week that the fight against the entertainment giant wasn't over.

☆ Disney blocks Ron DeSantis' Florida power play with a royal family clause
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Disney used a legal clause that name checks King Charles III to apparently thwart Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempt to strip the company of its self-governance power in the state. For nearly a year, state legislators, encouraged by DeSantis, have sought to exert more control over the company's Florida-based theme parks by passing a bill that would dissolve Disney's special tax district. DeSantis also wanted to rename the area the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and plant a new board to oversee it. As part a 30-year development agreement, Disney no longer needs board approval to build high-density projects or buildings of any height and can sell or assign development rights.

☆ Ron DeSantis' plan to take control of Disney's land backfired spectacularly because of a loophole in the agreement that may reduce his appointees to powerless functionaries
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ron DeSantis gained control of Walt Disney World's oversight district board in February. Ron DeSantis' move to take over Walt Disney World's governing board in Florida may have backfired due to a prior obscure agreement that new governor-appointed board members argue stripped them of their power. Disney also had the authority to appoint district board members. But the new supervisors are now saying that previous board members entered an agreement that effectively stripped them of their powers. "All these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate."

☆ It'll cost DeSantis' handpicked board nearly $1,300 per hour to hire a team of lawyers to investigate how Disney outmaneuvered them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DeSantis' board will pay hourly legal fees to investigate Disney's loophole in the governor's plan. DeSantis had previously planned to take over the company's governing rights over Disney World. A prior agreement invoked by Disney renders the new board's power essentially obsolete. Ron DeSantis and his handpicked board nearly $1,300 per hour in legal fees to investigate how Disney found a loophole in the governor's plan to take over the company's governing rights over Disney World, stripping the new government-appointed board members of their power. "This essentially makes Disney the government," Ron Peri, a member of the board, said during a meeting on Wednesday.

☆ It'll cost DeSantis' handpicked board at least $1,300 per hour to hire a team of lawyers to investigate how Disney outmaneuvered them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

☆ DeSantis' hand-picked Walt Disney World oversight board meets for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Octavio JonesMarch 8 (Reuters) - A new board controlling Walt Disney World's special taxing district in Florida will meet for the first time on Wednesday, as Governor Ron DeSantis' hand-picked group gets ready to end the entertainment giant's "corporate kingdom." Nothing in the language of the legislation creating the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District gives the board of supervisors authority to direct Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) content. "The District board members are now in place and will be examining all of the needed actions to get back on track," Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, said on Tuesday. Legislators in Florida passed a bill in February giving DeSantis effective control over a board that oversees municipal services and development in a special district that encompasses Walt Disney World resort. “Shameful to see Disney continue to use children as pawns to advance their WOKE political agenda,” Ziegler tweeted.

☆ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis taps ex-pastor to Disney oversight board who once said men are turning gay because 'there's estrogen in the water from birth control pills': report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One nominee, former pastor Ron Peri, previously said he thinks estrogen in water turns men gay, CNN reported. Ron DeSantis' appointee to the new Disney oversight board once claimed men were turning gay because of estrogen in tap water, CNN reported. One of his nominees was former pastor Ron Peri, who is also the CEO of The Gathering – a Christian ministry. In 2015, Jones asserted that "chemicals in the water" were "turning the friggin' frogs gay," The Texas Observer reported. The district will now be called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and Disney employees, owners, or operators will be prohibited from becoming board members.

☆ DeSantis strips Disney World of its self-governing power in Florida: 'There's a new sheriff in town'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

DeSantis has officially stripped Disney World of its self-governing status. DeSantis appointed political allies to the board, which have to be approved by the Florida Senate. Ron DeSantis abolished Walt Disney World's special authority on Monday, nearly 11 months after the company spoke out publicly against his controversial education agenda. Under the new law, board members cannot be employees, owners, or operators at Disney World. DeSantis said several times during the press conference that Disney World now had to follow the same rules as other Florida theme parks.

☆ Disney Special Tax-District Bill Is Approved by Florida Senate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Arian Campo-Flores | Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Florida Senate on Friday approved a bill that would dramatically alter the governance of a special-tax district near Orlando that has allowed Walt Disney Co. to self-govern the land that houses its theme parks, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis , who is expected to sign it into law. The bill would rename the Reedy Creek Improvement District—which houses Walt Disney World Resort and other parks and has existed for more than 50 years—the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The measure would give Mr. DeSantis the authority to appoint members to its governing body, the five-member board of supervisors, which under current law is essentially handpicked by Disney.

☆ Florida governor gains control over Disney district board
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Sunlight breaks through clouds near Disney World in Orlando, Florida, U.S. September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Gregg Newton/File PhotoFeb 10 (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers on Friday granted Governor Ron DeSantis effective control of the board that oversees development in and around Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) central Florida theme parks, escalating the Republican's battle with the company. DeSantis' spokesperson Bryan Griffin said the prior system, under which the Florida legislature in 1967 gave Disney sole control over the district, lacked accountability. Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida with close to 75,000 employees and drew 36.2 million visitors in 2021, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. The new bill preserves the Reedy Creek special district, though within two years it will be renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

☆ Florida to place leadership of Disney's special operating district under DeSantis' control
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Rob Wile | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One of those procedures concerns the district's ability to raise taxes and issue bonds to build and maintain infrastructure serving the Walt Disney World Resort. And the district will be renamed: From the Reedy Creek Special Improvement District to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. "Until Governor DeSantis acted, the Walt Disney Company maintained sole control over the District," a spokesman for the governor said in a statement. Disney is monitoring the legislation, Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement. But construction still appears to be progressing on a Disney office campus in Lake Nona, roughly 20 miles east of Disney World.

☆ Florida governor assumes control over Disney district board
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers granted Governor Ron DeSantis effective control of the board that oversees development in and around Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) central Florida theme parks, escalating the Republican's battle with the emblematic company. The board members will be confirmed by the Senate, and will have no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the theme parks. "Reedy Creek gifted extraordinary special privileges to a single corporation," DeSantis' spokesman Bryan Griffin wrote on Twitter. Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida with close to 75,000 employees, drawing 36.2 million visitors in 2021, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. The new bill preserves the Reedy Creek special district, though within two years it will be renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

☆ Florida Lawmakers Move to Take Over Disney’s Special-Tax District
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Walt Disney Co.’s dominion over its magic kingdom in Florida may be coming to an end. The bill, sponsored by Orlando Rep. Fred Hawkins, would rename Reedy Creek as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and give Gov. Florida’s state Senate would have to approve any such appointments. Under the current state law, Reedy Creek’s board is essentially handpicked by Disney, which owns almost all the land and assets within the district. The district has wide latitude to approve new real-estate developments at Walt Disney World without having to seek approvals for environmental impact, drainage and other regulations from local authorities, as other landowners must.

☆ Disney has bigger problems than Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But there are problems with spinning off ESPN, even if it would raise cash and allow Disney to trim debt. Labor painsUnionized rank-and-file workers at Disney World last week voted 96% against a contract offer from Disney that would have given them raises of at least $1 a year over the next five years. The company called the rejected wage proposal a “very strong offer.”But the last thing that Iger or Disney needs is to upset the strong demand for travel to Disney World or other park locations. Political battles in FloridaThe political culture wars are yet another headache for Iger, as Disney faces the possible loss of the powers it has to operate as a government-like entity for the land on which Disney World operates. “We are monitoring the progression of the draft legislation, which is complex given the long history of the Reedy Creek Improvement District,” said Jeff Vahle, president, Walt Disney World Resort.

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