For more than 50 years, a Florida law has allowed the Walt Disney Company to govern itself on the grounds of the Disney World theme park and resort in Orlando. But that could change if Governor Ron DeSantis has his way.
The Republican said he would consider revoking Disney's self-governing status over the company's public opposition to the recently enacted "Don't Say Gay" law.
"There are certain entities that have exerted a lot of influence through corporate means to generate special privileges in the law,” DeSantis said during a press conference Thursday. "I don't think we should have special privileges in the law at all."
DeSantis made the comments after the Walt Disney Company, the largest employer in Florida, issued an official statement denouncing the "Don't Say Gay" bill, saying it never should have been signed into law and that the company would continue efforts to have the legislation repealed.
DeSantis said that a potential repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows which allows Disney to act as its own government, would not solely be in retaliation of the company's opposition of the legislation, but rather part of a larger effort to strip the corporation of "special privileges."
"What I would say as a matter of first principle is I don't support special privileges in law just because a company is powerful and they've been able to wield a lot of power," DeSantis said.
The governor added that it was "never appropriate" to allow Disney to govern itself, and that "it's certainly not appropriate now at this point."
"I think they're used to having their way and they're not used to having people that will stand in their way and say, 'Actually, the state of Florida is going to be governed by the best interest of the people in Florida,'" he said. "We're certainly not going to bend a knee to woke executives in California. That is not the way the state's going to be run."
On Wednesday, Florida State Rep. Spencer Roach tweeted that legislators have been meeting to discuss repealing the law.
"Yesterday was the 2nd meeting in a week w/fellow legislators to discuss a repeal of the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which allows Disney to act as its own government," he said. "If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County."
The "Parental Rights in Education" bill, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, is set to become effective July 1. According to DeSantis' office, the bill takes three key steps to "protect students and put power back in the hands of parents."
The bill prohibits classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in K-3 classrooms, and mandates that after 3rd grade, these conversations need to be age-appropriate.
It also ensures that at the beginning of every school year, parents will be notified about healthcare services offered at the school, with the right to decline any service offered.
Finally, the bill ensures that whenever a questionnaire or health screening is given to K-3 students, parents receive it first and provide permission for the school to administer the questionnaire or health screening to their child.
The bill has received significant backlash. LGBTQ advocates say it is a continuation of an effort to paint LGBTQ people as "other," or even dangerous, the Washington Post reported. President Joe Biden has even criticized the bill, which he feels could jeopardize vulnerable and young LGBTQ people.
"I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are," Biden tweeted in February.