Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is attempting to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District of Walt Disney World. A bill to dissolve Reedy Creek and other special districts passed the Florida Senate today. However, according to a Florida statute, the district cannot be dissolved without the approval of resident voters or landowners in the district.
Twitter user @what0080 shared a screenshot of statute 189.072 with us. It’s available to read in full here.
Section 1 of the statute covers the voluntary dissolution of a special independent district, while section 2 covers other dissolutions. The following is section 2a:
In order for the Legislature to dissolve an active independent special district created and operating pursuant to a special act, the special act dissolving the active independent special district must be approved by a majority of the resident electors of the district or, for districts in which a majority of governing body members are elected by landowners, a majority of the landowners voting in the same manner by which the independent special district’s governing body is elected. If a local general-purpose government passes an ordinance or resolution in support of the dissolution, the local general-purpose government must pay any expenses associated with the referendum required under this paragraph.
As it states, an act by the Florida Legislature dissolving a special district such as Reedy Creek must be approved by the majority of resident electors or landowners in the district. It would be the latter if the majority of governing body members are elected by landowners.
Reedy Creek Improvement District has fewer than 100 residents in two cities: Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake. The residents elect their local officials, while landowners elect the five-member Board of Supervisors.
The bill has yet to pass the House of Representatives, but it seems Reedy Creek and Walt Disney World would be able to push against it using this statute.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Meh, the legislature will just change that law, too. They’re the ones who are making statute, so if that’s really in their way, they’ll just remove it.
I’m pretty sure the statute will be changed. If the legislature will do it’s job, they will anticipate the law and the lawsuits to follow. They will do it cleanly.
The bill presented to the legislature specifically says “notwithstanding 189.072 (2),” meaning it has no standing on the law.
When you pass a new law that supersedes an old law, you cannot point to the old law as a way to block the new law. Otherwise people would point to the laws that shows limited government power and no taxes as they were laws once too.
That is the problem with laws written by the government and not it the constitution, it is easier to change.
Stripping residents and property owners of the right to vote once accorded them is governed by the US Constitution. Last time I looked the Florida legislature did not have the power to amend the Constitution.
But who assumes responsibility for the bond debt, Orange and Osceola counties? How does that benefit anyone? The legislature cannot wave a magic wand and dissolve those contractual obligations lol. It’s breathtaking that they chose to open a can of worms with Disney instead of addressing actual issues facing residents…