Worst-laid plans go awry in Florida
A little premature legislation from Florida Republicans in Tallahassee and Trump-in-waiting Gov. Ron DeSantis. Their plan to punish Disney for daring to voice opposition to Florida’s “Don’t say gay” law has run into a snag (Miami Herald):
As Florida legislators were rushing through passage of a bill to repeal the special district that governs Walt Disney World last week, they failed to notice an obscure provision in state law that says the state could not do what legislators were doing — unless the district’s bond debt was paid off.
Disney, however, noticed and quietly sent a note to its investors to show that it was confident the Legislature’s attempt to dissolve the special taxing district operating the 39-square mile parcel it owned in two counties violated the “pledge” the state made when it enacted the district in 1967, and therefore was not legal.
The result, Disney told its investors, is that it would continue to go about business as usual.
The special Reedy Creek Improvement District allows Disney, among other things, to “build roads, sewers and utilities as well as the authority to set its zoning laws, establish its police and fire departments, and regulate its construction,” the Herald reports. Disney World has its own water utility and power plant.
Retributionus interruptus
Revoking that arrangement may not stand legal scrutiny.
In essence, the state had a contractual obligation not to interfere with the district until the bond debt is paid off, said Jake Schumer, a municipal attorney in the Maitland law firm of Shepard, Smith, Kohlmyer & Hand, in an article for Bloomberg Tax posted on Tuesday and cited in a Law and Crime article.
Since Florida law states that affected counties inherit any debt from such a dissolved district, Orange and Osceola counties will be more than pleased that state Republicans have saddled them with as much as $1 billion in bond debt. Orange County would find $163 million in operating expenses added to its $600 million budget.
Proponents of the bill “had some misconception that Disney’s getting some special property tax break for Reedy Creek,’’ said Scott Randolph, Orange County tax collector. “It’s not.”
In fact, the theme parks of Universal Studios and SeaWorld, which operate under dependent taxing districts, have more tax advantages than Disney because “if those taxing districts didn’t exist, that money would otherwise go to Orange County’s general revenue,’’ Randolph said.
“Under no circumstances will Disney not pay its debts,’’ DeSantis said. He just did not say how.
DeSantis needed to show everyone who’s Boss Hogg. His first effort seems to have failed. He and his allies have more legislative scheming to do.
Imagine how DeSantis might run the country.
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