DeSantis & Reedy Creek
Anti-Disney or a Government power grab?
Reedy Creek Origins
Where are they going to get power and water … and who is going to pay for it?
The Walt Disney World Company petitioned lawmakers in Tallahassee for help in creating a “special taxing district” that would provide the flexibility and efficiency needed for this ambitious project. Special taxing districts already existed in many areas of Florida, but mainly to deal with singular issues like hospitals or fire protection or drainage.
The idea of a special district taking responsibility for all the services normally associated with county government – water, power, emergency services, waste disposal, roads, bridges, etc. – was unheard of. So was the idea that the landowners within the district, in this case, primarily the Walt Disney World Company, would agree to pay all costs for those services.
The legislature came up with some innovative solutions and the Reedy Creek Improvement District was born. The District was given authority and responsibilities to provide government services such as land use regulation and planning, building codes, surface water control, drainage, waste treatment, utilities, roads, bridges, fire protection, emergency medical services and environmental services.
And only the landowners within the District, primarily the Walt Disney World Company, would pay to build and maintain those services. Local taxpayers, meaning residents of Orange County and Osceola County, would not have to contribute.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20150918145601/http://www.rcid.org/About/History.aspx
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/Gmksl
The Reedy Creek Act Includes Special Provisions
In the Reedy Creek Act the State of Florida has pledged to the holders of any bonds issued by the District:
(1) that it will not limit or alter the rights of the District (a) to own, acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, operate or furnish the projects or to levy and collect the taxes, assessments, rentals, rates, fees, tolls, fares and other charges provided for in the Reedy Creek Act, and (b) to fulfill the terms of any agreement made with the holders of any bonds or other obligations of the District; and (2) that it will not in any way impair the rights or remedies of the holders, and that it will not modify in any way the exemption from taxation provided in the Reedy Creek Act, until all such bonds together with interest thereon, and all costs and expenses in connection with any act or proceeding by or on behalf of such holders, are fully met and discharged.
In light of the State of Florida’s pledge to the District’s bondholders, Reedy Creek expects to explore its options while continuing its present operations, including levying and collecting its ad valorem taxes and collecting its utility revenues, paying debt service on its ad valorem tax bonds and utility revenue bonds, complying with its bond covenants and operating and maintaining its properties.
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/TrQJG
Reedy Creek Act: edocs.dlis.state.fl.us/fldocs/leg/actsflorida/1967/LOF1967V1Pt2Ch0614-1068.pdf
Archive Copy: https://files.catbox.moe/v1hed1.pdf
Reality Strikes Back at DeSantis’ Fantasy World
The Legislature went along with Mr. DeSantis until it realized there was a problem. The abolishment of the district — set for June 1, 2023 — would require taxpayers in Orange and Osceola Counties to pick up the tab for Disney World services like fire protection, policing and road maintenance. Under the old setup, Disney paid for those costs.
The district also carried roughly $1 billion in debt. If the district had been abolished, that debt would have been transferred to the counties.
Disney would be allowed to keep the special tax district — which never went away — and almost all its perks, including the ability to issue tax-exempt bonds and approve development plans without scrutiny from certain local regulators. But Disney would no longer be able to appoint the five members of the tax district’s board. Florida’s governor would get to do that.
In terms of monetary impact, the changes make it possible for the board to impose taxes on Disney to help fund road improvements outside Disney World’s boundaries. It also eliminates some Disney World exemptions from state regulatory reviews, which could cause the cost of building projects at the resort to balloon.
The board does not have the power to dictate the content that Disney offers to its customers.
Along with putting the board in the hands of political appointees, the measure changed the tax district’s name to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Disney will also be barred from building a nuclear power plant or an airport at the resort — things that were never on its to-do list anyway.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/business/disney-world-florida-tax-board.html [PAYWALL]
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/gSTLR
Senate Bill 4-C (2022)
Source: laws.flrules.org/2022/266
Archive Copy: https://files.catbox.moe/4eb01f.pdf
So Where Are We Now? Limbo Land
House Bill 9B, delivers on the goal of removing Disney’s special status through a number of provisions, first and foremost of which is to make the RCID a public corporation of the state, renamed as the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.”
The bill will give RCID two years to phase out its processes of doing business under the Reedy Creek name, in order for the newly reformatted entity to change records, contracts, bonds, accounts, physical assets, and other relevant items without impeding its functional requirements.
HB 9B also states explicitly that the district’s renaming will not impact any of its existing agreements, bonds, or other instruments of indebtedness, liabilities, assets, rights, or district obligations. The lawfully held debts, bonds, obligations, contracts, franchises, promissory notes, audits, minutes, resolutions, and other undertakings of RCID will be valid and continue to be valid and binding to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, “in accordance with their respective terms, conditions, and covenants.”
The bill also requires that all taxes levied by the Reedy Creek Board of Supervisors will remain in effect, remain binding, collectible, and lien on those lands will be retained in accordance with the legislation’s provisions.
In addition to new leadership and other bureaucratic powers for the board, HB 9B allows the newly-renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to exercise eminent domain within its defined territory, “for the purpose of condemning any real, personal, or mixed property, public or private, including property owned by the City of Bay Lake or the City of Lake Buena Vista, which the board of supervisors deems necessary for the use, construction, or operation of any of the projects of the district or otherwise to carry out any of the purposes of the district.”
Despite the bill’s explicitly intended purpose, and immediate impact upon becoming law, the name “Disney” is not mentioned in the text of the legislation a single time.
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/TsiN8
While DeSantis Grandstands, It’s Business As Usual
Disneyland is welcoming children of all ages to attend its first gay “Pride Nite” celebration, an after-hours event commemorating Pride Month.
The LGBTQAI2S+ Disney celebration coincides with Walt Disney Co.’s promotion of gay and transgender ideology in its content aimed at children.
In internal videos leaked last April, Disney creatives were exposed openly discussing plans to incorporate more gay, transgender and “gender-nonconforming” characters in its children’s programs and their commitment to creating more “queer stories.”
Disney corporate president Karey Burke declared in another video that she intends to see at least 50 percent of Disney’s characters in the future identify as LGBT or a racial minority.
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/4dD1b
Closing
So basically, the Government (that we all clearly trust), will now exercise the power of Eminent Domain and the Government will now try to force Disney to pay obligations that were once contracturally required they pay. And if they don’t, who pays then? 🤔
I think it’s clear that this creates a massive liability for Florida Residents and way too much power into the hands of Five Bureaucrats appointed by The Governor. Does that sound like America to you, to renege on an existing contract? To seize control but not delineate who is liable for what?
Undoing Reedy Creek may just end up costing Floridians a small fortune.
Follow-up
And just like that, Florida Residents come up losers because our Political Class could care less what is best for us. Instead, we get a costly lawsuit:
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/business/disney-desantis-board-florida.html [PAYWALL]
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/tMUVi
H/T @DeSantisStan on Truth Social