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Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill to rename, reorganize Disney's Reedy Creek district

By FOX 35 News Staff
Published  February 27, 2023 9:36am EST
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando

Gov. DeSantis signs Reedy Creek bill: 'Corporate kingdom finally comes to an end'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks before signing HB9, which renames and reorganizes the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allowed Walt Disney World to self-govern itself.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB9, a bill passed earlier this month by the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, that reorganizes – and eventually renames – the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allowed Walt Disney World to self-govern itself.

"Today, the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end," Gov. DeSantis said at the beginning of his remarks. 

DeSantis has had a recently contentious relationship with The Walt Disney Company after its former CEO Bob Chapek publicly opposed the state's Florida Parental Rights in Education Act – then a bill, now law – which prevents classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels, among other requirements.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill to overhaul Reedy Creek district

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB9 on Monday morning, which renames and restructures the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allowed Walt Disney World to self-govern itself.

DeSantis then called a special session to discuss the possible dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, an independent district that allowed Disney to essentially self-govern itself.

The Florida House and Senate passed HB9 earlier this month, which would eventually rename the district to the "Central Florida Tourism Oversight District," and would allow the state governor to appoint a five-member Board of Supervisors to manage the district.

During Monday's press conference, DeSantis announced the people he appointed to the Board.