Ron DeSantis Signs Legislation Officially Ending Disney’s Self-Governing Status

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday signed legislation officially ending Disney’s self-governing status nearly a year after the company went full groomer, vowing to fight against the pro-parent Parental Rights in Education bill, which the governor signed into law last year.

DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill last year, which in part prevented classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade. At the time, far-left activists falsely labeled the bill “Don’t Say Gay,” even though no word or phrase is banned under the legislation. Disney joined the far left, stating, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts”:

That set up a full-blown war between the DeSantis administration and woke Disney — which had already forged its path in pushing the LGBT+ agenda on children in shows and movies —  as the Florida legislature began to move. In April 2022, DeSantis signed legislation dissolving Disney’s special tax and governing jurisdiction. And on Monday, DeSantis, with help from the Florida legislature, signed legislation officially ending Disney’s self-governing status.

“We want our kids to be kids. We want them to be able to enjoy entertainment school without having an agenda imposed upon them. And so if you’re going that way, as a corporation, those are not the values that we want to promote in the state of Florida,” he said.

“We want to promote the safety of our students and the rights of our parents. So we had this situation here, that was basically indefensible. From a policy perspective, how do you give one theme park its own government and then treat all the other theme parks differently?” DeSantis asked, deeming it bad policy which was not “justifiable or sustainable.”

“I’ll be signing the bill momentarily, and that will officially end the self-governing status here in central Florida for Disney,” DeSantis said, adding that the legislation will also end Disney’s exemption from the Florida building code and Florida fire prevention code.

“It will end Disney’s exemption from state regulatory reviews and approval. It will end Disney secrecy by finally ensuring transparency about what goes on in this area. It will ensure that it pays its fair share of taxes. It will prevent local governments dominated by leftist politicians from using this situation to raise local taxes,” the governor said, promising that this will be “no additional tax burden” on any Floridian.

“This bill and the structure that we’ve created in this bill will ensure that the municipal debt that’s been wrapped up will be paid by Disney– not by Florida taxpayers. And so this is what accountability looks like. This is what standing up for Florida taxpayers in the rule of law looks like,” he added.

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“The state of Florida is the new sheriff in town,” DeSantis said, announcing members of the new state-controlled which will responsible for governing the area.

“I’m pleased to announce that I am going to, later today, formally appoint the following to the control board,” he said, which will include attorney Martin Garcia of Tampa to serve as chairman; Seminole County attorney Michael Sasso; Clearwater attorney Brian Aungst; Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler; and The Gathering USA CEO Ron Peri.

“They’ve got a lot of work to do. … You got to ensure that all these laws are applied. You got to ensure that debt is paid and you got to ensure the fair share of taxes are paid. And so they’re going to be getting to work very soon,” DeSantis said, announcing an upcoming board meeting.

“So buckle up. There’s a lot to get done. And one of the things that I’ve asked them to do when they convene week from Wednesday is to look at the compensation for the first responders and give them more compensation for doing a good job and so I hopefully will be able to get that,” he added.