Don’t cross the Governor or you will be hit and hit hard
There was a time when the GOP believed that corporations had free speech and were pretty much immune from regulation. It turns out that only their money is free speech and they can be harassed and investigated if they cross Republicans and their political allies.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republicans in Florida are escalating their battle with the Walt Disney Co. amid fallout over a bill that banned classroom teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis announced on Tuesday that the GOP-controlled Legislature during this week’s special session will take up a bill that would dismantle the special district that has allowed Disney to operate its own local government in central Florida that is the home to Walt Disney World. Legislators are already scheduled to hold a three-and-a-half day special session where they will pass a new congressional map proposed by the governor that will help the GOP pick up seats in the upcoming election.
The move by DeSantis and legislative leaders is a sign they are willing to strip the California-based entertainment conglomerate of a special status it’s benefited from for decades, though it remains unclear exactly how the company will be affected or how it will respond. The Reedy Creek Improvement District allows Disney to build its own structures without seeking approval from a local planning commission and collect taxes and issue bonds.
Unwinding the district could be an enormous undertaking with ramifications for adjacent local governments. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The governor did not give many specifics on Tuesday, although he said that the legislation would repeal special districts that were created prior to 1968, which would include the Reedy Creek Improvement District. That district covers about 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties on land that is owned by Walt Disney Co. and its affiliates. The district provides fire and emergency services, oversees environmental and land use rules and maintains all public roads.
“Right now [Disney] can do almost anything a county or city can do, except do things like make arrests. All that would all come under review,” said Chris Lyon, an attorney and lobbyist who deals with special districts. “Lawmakers could decide if they want to give them those powers moving forward.”
House Speaker Chris Sprowls defended the decision to take up legislation directly aimed at Disney, calling the company’s opposition to the “Parental Rights in Education” bill as “wildly inappropriate.”
“They used their platform to perpetuate what we believe to be a lie, which is that the bill did one thing that it really didn’t do at all,” said Sprowls on Tuesday.
“I think the governor’s anger was well placed,” he said.
[…]
Disney criticized Florida for enacting the “Parental Rights in Education” bill — which has been called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its critics — although the company had kept its opposition quiet until after the bill passed the Legislature. Disney, which employs over 70,000 Floridians, announced it would pause making campaign donations in Florida and the company also said it hoped that the law — which opponents, including President Joe Biden, maintain could further marginalize some students and lead to bullying and even suicide — was repealed or struck down by the courts. A federal lawsuit has already been filed by a group of LGBTQ advocates.
During the special session legislators will also take up a measure that would repeal part of a law passed just a year ago that carved Disney out from a law dealing with tech companies. But public records obtained by news organizations have shown that DeSantis’ own staff helped write the exemptions. That currently law is being challenged in federal court.
Democrats in Florida reacted with outrage over DeSantis’ Tuesday announcement, calling it a distraction from the special legislative session that will reshape congressional districts in the state.
“Welcome to Florida’s petty & punitive state government. If you question the Governor and stand up for LGBTQ+ people you get canceled and called a pedophile,” tweeted state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), a frequent DeSantis critic. “This is all a distraction from erasing black districts. Meanwhile people can’t afford their rent in FL but let’s do more culture war instead!”
DeSantis is 100% all-in on the culture war and obviously expects that it’s going to propel him into the White House. Perhaps that’s all he has on his agenda but it’s looking more and more as if he’s looking at a Viktor Orban authoritarian strategy. He seeks to have government control the media:
Meanwhile, the GOP clown car is right there with him:
Unlike Trump, DeSantis knows exactly what he’s doing. Which is scary.