The Florida House of Representatives has today followed the Florida Senate and voted to pass the bill to terminate Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Earlier this week, the Florida Senate voted 23-16 to pass a bill to dissolve Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District as Governor Ron DeSantis continues to work to punish Disney for opposing Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.
The bill will now go to Ron DeSantis to sign, leading to the possibility that the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be dissolved on June 1 2023.
The bill is likely to receive a number of legal challenges before any implications are realized for Disney. At this stage, it appears that nobody involved in voting for the elimination of Ready Creek has any plan to handle the district's massive debt and how current Reedy Creek responsibilities could be handled by Orange and Osceola Counties. Representatives of Orange County have suggested that its residents may see massive tax hikes to cover the Reedy Creek debt.
The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District in 1967 allowed Disney the luxury of establishing its own independent government that handles many aspects of the Walt Disney World property, including emergency services, infrastructure, and construction permitting. It remains unclear how the elimination of Reedy Creek could actually be implemented and how Disney would respond.
In a second vote, the House also passed a measure to remove the protection that Disney has regarding tech firm censorship.
These latest moves follow escalating tensions between DeSantis and Disney CEO Bob Chapek regarding Disney's opposition to Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.
Disney has suspended all political donations in the state of Florida in response to the bill.
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