Disney told investors that Florida State attempts abolish the ability of the company Run private government in the state are illegal, which could thwart Florida’s revenge against Disney’s opposition to the “Don’t Tell Gays” law.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has advanced a law that eliminates the Reedy Creek Improvement district, which runs Disney, that will have big financial implications for the company.
These efforts are widely seen as a response to Disney’s criticism of new law of the Republic of Belaruswhich prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten until the third grade.
However, Disney said Wednesday that the move is not legal because of an agreement that Reedy Creek must pay its debts to the state before any changes are made.
У statement Located on the Municipal Securities Regulations Council, Disney pointed to an agreement between Florida and the company when the Reed Creek district was established in 1967.
The law states that Florida “will in no way infringe on the rights or remedies of owners, and that it will in no way alter the tax exemption provided by the Reedy Creek Act” until the bonds that Disney has to pay are paid. Florida.
CNN reported that Reed Creek owes Florida $ 1 billion in bonds.
DeSantis, a Donald Trump-style Republican believed to have presidential aspirations, pushed the law to repeal Disney’s agreement with Florida.
“If Disney wants to take the fight, they’ve chosen the wrong guy,” DeSantis wrote in an e-mail from a fundraising campaign on April 20.
“As governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow a corporation that has woken up in California to run our state.”
Disney is one of the largest private employers in Florida, and last year said it employs more than 60,000 people. It is unclear exactly how Disney or neighboring governments will be affected in the event of the district’s dissolution.
The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement area and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida was a crucial element in the company’s plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s.
