Disney sues DeSantis over nullification of its special tax district
A Florida board designed to oversee government services at Disney World voted this Wednesday to nullify two agreements that greenlighted the company's expansion, The New York Times reported.
Disney responded by suing DeSantis, the board he appointed, and other officials, alleging “a targeted campaign of government retaliation."
Disney first became a target of DeSantis after the company criticized Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law and halted political donations to the state. Disney’s lawsuit goes on to accuse DeSantis of a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint," adding that the board's actions “now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights.”
As The Times points out, the current fight between DeSantis and Disney is over a special tax district "that encompasses Disney World, which employs 75,000 people and attracts 50 million visitors annually. The district, created in 1967 southwest of Orlando, effectively turned the property into its own county, giving Disney unusual control over fire protection, policing, waste management, energy generation, road maintenance, bond issuance and development planning."
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Disney pushed through the agreements in early February before the DeSantis-appointed board was in place. In response, DeSantis floated a variety of punitive actions, saying at an April 17 press conference, “Maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks — someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison."
According to Disney's suit, "a targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."
They specifically cited the attempt to "void" the development contracts as nothing more than retaliation that is "patently unconstitutional."
"The Governor recently declared that his team would not only 'void the development agreement'—just as they did today—but also planned 'to look at things like taxes on the hotels,' 'tolls on the roads,' 'developing some of the property that the district owns' with 'more amusement parks,' and even putting a 'state prison' next to Walt Disney World."
"Who knows? I just think the possibilities are endless,” Disney quoted DeSantis saying.
The lawsuit is large enough that it will likely end up at the Supreme Court.
Recently, former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) complained that the move by DeSantis was outside of the pro-business narrative of the Republican Party. Using the government to attack political foes seemed like a bad idea to him.
Politically, DeSantis is facing off of a hugely popular company beloved by people in Florida and throughout the country. Comparatively, DeSantis doesn't enjoy the same approval ratings. He's "slipping" against Trump, The New York Times reported.