Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has passed legislation that would eliminate Disney-run Reedy Creek Improvement, a move that would have huge financial implications for the company. The effort is widely seen as a response to Disney’s criticism of a new GOP law that bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten until the third grade. On Wednesday, however, Disney said the move was illegal because of an agreement under which Reedy Creek must pay off its debts to the state before any changes can be made. In a statement to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, Disney noted an agreement between Florida and the company when the Reedy Creek improvement area was created in 1967. The law states that Florida “will not in any way prejudice the rights or remedies of the holders and will not in any way amend the tax exemption provided for in the Reedy Creek Act” until the bonds owes Disney to Florida. CNN reported that Reedy Creek owes Florida $ 1 billion in bonds. DeSantis, a Republican in the mold of Donald Trump, who is considered to have presidential ambitions, pushed for the repeal of the Disney agreement with Florida. “If Disney wanted to pick a race, it chose the wrong guy,” DeSantis wrote in a campaign fundraising email on April 20. “As governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow a California-based watchdog to run our state.” Disney is one of Florida’s largest private employers and last year said it had more than 60,000 employees in the state. It is not immediately clear how exactly Disney or neighboring governments would be affected if the area was dismantled. The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement area and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 acres) in Florida, was a crucial element in the company’s plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s.
