Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill ending the special tax district surrounding Walt Disney World that gave the company a high degree of autonomy for the past 50 years. Critics of the move claim it is retaliation for Disney’s opposition to a law restricting discussion of gender and sexual orientation in classrooms.
Last year, Disney’s then-CEO, Bob Chapek, expressed disappointment with the “Don’t Say Gay” measure and contacted DeSantis to express concern about it becoming law. Reuters reports Florida lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the governor to appoint five supervisors to oversee traditional municipal services in the area surrounding Disney World, which also has the authority to raise revenue to cover costs. DeSantis called the previous arrangement “indefensible from a policy perspective.”
At the bill-signing ceremony, speakers included a parent who criticized Disney for opposing the state’s education bill and an employee who took issue with the company’s vaccination policies. Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida, with almost 75,000 employees, and drew 36.2 million visitors in 2021.
