Is Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida overstepping his bounds by going after the Reedy Creek Improvement District which encompasses Walt Disney World? Looking at the origins of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney appears to have been given special district status, which made it a unit of government, in order to aid it in developing to it’s fullest potential without all the red tape that Disney Land had experienced in California. This special district status, plus other excessive additions, such as the ability to build a nuclear plant or airport, gave Disney World the freedom to become what it wanted to be without much friction from the other areas of government. However, Disney should not have been a part of the government and special district status should be left to public resources such as water, roads, parks, public health, etc. not monopolies. It is within the power of local and state governments to create a special district, so therefore it is within their power to dismantle or change the district as well. Therefore, Governor DeSantis is not necessarily abusing his power as Governor to do this. On the other hand, it is necessary to look at why DeSantis is doing this in the first place. Governor DeSantis is a Republican, which would seem to imply that he would want little government control in business, yet he is creating a governing board over Disney that can control revenue, municipal services, and paying off debts. It appears that DeSantis is going after Disney’s corporate freedom because he is “anti-woke” and angry at Disney for going against his “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Unsurprisingly, Governor DeSantis is appointing other influential, anti-woke Republicans to the Disney governing board. This manipulation of societal values does feel like an overstep of DeSantis’s power because this governing board could potentially force Disney into regressive and harmful policies by withholding funds or future development. In the end, these changes are not currently having much of an impact, but only time will tell how this will turn out for the largest employer of central Florida.
