Ron DeSantis And Florida Look To Nullify Disney’s Reedy Creek Agreements

In the latest back and forth between Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World, the Florida governor announced yesterday that the Florida state legislature will look to nullify Disney’s agreement with the former Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Despite Disney and Reedy Creek’s legal maneuvering at the 11th hour, DeSantis says that there are legal flaws in the agreement and that Disney’s days of privilege are coming to an end.

Ron DeSantis

“I think what you’ll find is that this is basically a sham agreement,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis’ Argument

According to legal insiders, Florida will argue that the agreements between Disney and Reedy Creek were essentially self-dealing.

Photo: CNN

Furthermore, the Florida state legislature is working on a bill specifically designed to prevent the kind of agreements Disney made.

The new legislation states:

“An independent special district is precluded from complying with the terms of any development agreement, and any other agreement for which the development agreement serves in whole or part as consideration, executed within 3 months preceding the effective date of a law modifying the manner of selecting members of the governing body of an independent special district.”

@HazenWESH on Twitter

Basically, the proposed law would nullify the kind of binding agreements that Disney and Reedy Creek made. Such agreements would be illegal if they were agreed upon less than 3 months before a special district leadership change.

Disney’s Argument

While DeSantis remains confident that the state board will render the agreements between Disney and Reedy Creek void, Disney argues that everything was done within the legal framework.

Photo: Fox Business

The Walt Disney Company previously released a statement defending the agreements:

“All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate. They were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.” 

While the battle between Disney and DeSantis will continue to play out in public, the end result will likely be decided in court.

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