Free Republic

Ron DeSantis won his war against Disney today as he officially stripped the company of its 55-year-old special privileges that effectively allowed it to self-govern. The Florida governor wrote into law the plan which scrapped the Reedy Creek Improvement District, meaning the firm will no longer be able to govern itself. The Republican gave a rousing speech and smiled as he passed the bill alongside a crowd of clapping schoolchildren this afternoon. He slammed the firm for 'marshalling your economic might to attack the parents of my state', adding: 'We view that as a provocation, and we're going to fight...

Florida lawmakers have voted to strip Disney of its special status as a self-governing area as the war between Governor Ron DeSantis and the company rumbles on. The Republican led House gave final passage to a bill that would end the Reedy Creek Improvement District, meaning the firm will no longer be able operate as a self-contained government. 'It seems as [though] Mickey and Minnie have joined us in the chamber today,' State Rep. Randy Fine, who sponsored the bill, said Thursday ahead of the vote as the sound of yelling filled the chamber. The House passed the measure with...

The Florida Senate passed on Wednesday legislation to end Disney’s special tax and governing jurisdiction. The Senate passed S. 4-C, which is the legislation that would dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, otherwise known as the special tax and governing jurisdiction for the Walt Disney World Resort. The legislation passed with 23 votes in favor of the bill, and 16 against the bill. The Florida legislature authorized the special district in 1967 to boost economic development and tourism; however, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Republicans proposed the legislation to eliminate the special district after Disney has continued to oppose...

A Florida lawmaker has slammed Disney for wading into the political debate surrounding the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill and says the company is a guest in the state and doesn't deserve special privileges. Republican Representative Randy Fine, 48, told CNBC's Squawk Box that Florida should eliminate Disney's self-governing status after the company injected itself into the 'Don't Say Gay' bill debate. 'When Disney kicked the hornets nest several weeks ago, we started taking a look at special districts. And we found that six of them had been created before the Florida constitution was actually put in place. 'And they...

“Once again, on Nov. 8, I was discouraged by the Web pages. After reading [the site], I was upset and discouraged by many comments,” said Jerry Holldber, Pine Cove Water District general manager. The Web site — a Web blog — was created this summer to foster a community dialogue over the proposal to combine the three local water districts — Fern Valley (FVWD), Idyllwild (IWD) and Pine Cove (PCWD). A “blog” is defined as a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. A blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for...