In the past month, you have probably seen Disney in the news quite a bit surrounding the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District (“RCID”) is a special district under which Disney World has operated for over 50 years. This special district allowed Disney to basically act as its own county, giving it control over decisions on how the land operated. In April 2022, a bill was passed and signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that dissolved the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Now, residents of the counties surrounding the area have filed a lawsuit against the Florida Governor.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, a complaint was filed in Florida federal court on May 3rd, 2022 by residents living near Disney World. In their complaint, the residents argue that they, along with other taxpayers will be “burdened with at least $1 billion in Disney’s bond debt” if the state goes through with its plan to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement district.
The lawsuit, as obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, reads, “It is without question that Defendant Governor DeSantis intended to punish Disney for a 1st Amendment protected ground of free speech. Defendant’s violation of Disney’s 1st Amendment rights directly resulted in a violation of Plaintiffs’ 14th Amendment rights to due process of law.”
This is not the first time that the decision to dissolve the district has come under criticism. Recently, a few Florida state senators held a press conference where they discussed what dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District could mean, and how it could be done.
In the press conference, Senator Linda Stewart (district 13, part of Orange County) said, “The governor will establish a new district, that’s our latest word, under the general purpose government controlled by the governor with appointments by the governor…Therefore the debt will be paid, if this were the case, by the state of Florida, for over a billion dollars.”
Currently, no confirmed plan has been put in place on how the dissolution will take place, with the dissolution set to take place in 2023 if a new agreement is not reached.
This situation is continuing to develop, and could change substantially over the next weeks and months. Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest updates and information.
Click here to learn about why Florida could face a BIG PROBLEM with dissolving the RCID
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If no plan has been put forward, why are they suing? Governor DeSantis may put forth a plan that everyone agrees with. Too early to be suing people and screaming. DeSantis is probably not planning to put that debt on Floridians.
Good for them! No one should be forced to take on that kind of debt. I know I couldn’t afford a giant raise in my property taxes
Not only property taxes, but the ongoing burden of maintaining water, sewer, roads, etc., that Reedy Creek currently handles at no cost to the surrounding counties.