Before Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) tore down and rebuilt the board governing the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney stripped the board of almost all of its power.
On Wednesday, the newly formed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, made up of DeSantis-appointed members, said it is seeking legal action to restore its governing power over the district, which encompasses the Walt Disney World Resort, by bringing in four outside law firms to void the agreement made under the previous board.
DISNEY DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS SLAM COMPANY AND PROMISE ‘BIG CHANGES’ IN FIRST MEETING
“We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” board member Brian Aungst Jr. said at a press conference Wednesday, per the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”
The agreement that went into effect on Feb. 8, the same day the Florida House passed a bill restructuring the previously named Reedy Creek Improvement District, essentially does not permit the board to make most changes without permission from Disney. The agreement also stipulates that it “shall continue until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England, living as of the date of this declaration.”
“I cannot tell you the level of my disappointment in Disney. I thought so much better of them. This essentially makes Disney the government,” board member Ron Peri said, per local Orlando television station WKMG. “This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure.”
Disney had maintained control over the district and its board since its creation in 1967, until last month when DeSantis signed a bill restructuring the district and adding oversight from a state-appointed board, ending what he called a “corporate kingdom.”
The company defended its actions in a statement Wednesday, saying that all signed agreements were “appropriate” and that they were discussed in open forums.
“All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law,” Disney said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
DeSantis’s office said it is “aware” of the agreements and that a review has shown the agreements may have “significant legal infirmities” that could render them void. His office also expressed pleasure over the new board’s actions against the agreements.
“The Executive Office of the Governor is aware of Disney’s last-ditch efforts to execute contracts just before ratifying the new law that transfers rights and authorities from the former Reedy Creek Improvement District to Disney,” Taryn Fenske, communications director for the governor’s office, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “An initial review suggests these agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law. We are pleased the new Governor-appointed board retained multiple financial and legal firms to conduct audits and investigate Disney’s past behavior.”
On Thursday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody made a public records request to the Disney-appointed board members of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District.
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In the letter, she demanded texts, emails, and other public records regarding “documents discussing an intention or goal of circumventing, avoiding, frustrating, mitigating, or otherwise attempting to avoid the effects of anticipated actions of the Florida Governor and Legislature.”
The battle between the governor and the company, which led to Disney’s Central Florida district being restructured, began after the company came out strongly against the state’s Parental Rights in Education bill in March 2022.
