The Florida House voted to revoke Disney World’s designation as a special tax district — a privilege that Disney has held for 55 years, effectively allowing the company to self-govern its 25,000-acre theme park complex, the New York Times reported. The Florida Senate voted on Wednesday to eliminate the special zone, which is called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Having cleared the way to this outcome with a formal proclamation, Gov. Ron DeSantis will almost certainly make the measure official by adding his signature. It would take effect in June next year. The swift effort to dissolve Reedy Creek by Florida Republicans has been widely seen as brazen retaliation after Disney, Florida’s largest private employer, paused political donations in the state and condemned a new education law that opponents call “Don’t Say Gay.” Among many things, the law prohibits discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity through the third grade in Florida classrooms and limits it for older students. The Reedy Creek Improvement District, enacted in 1967 to entice Disney to build a theme park 20 miles south of Orlando, saves the company millions of dollars annually in fees and taxes, experts estimate.
