The legal war between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World Resort just got more heated.
One day after the Central Florida Disney Park announced updates to its lawsuit against DeSantis and the state of Florida, the Republican Governor's hand-selected Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board revealed its May 10 meeting agenda.
The board, which took over Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District in February, has pressed forward despite Disney's rushed resolution to disempower the district authority. As DeSantis prepares a countersuit against The Walt Disney Company, the board plans to send "enforcement officers" to Walt Disney World Resort.
Said officers will work with a proposed enforcement citation program and a magistrate who will appeal any enforcement violations. Enforcement officers would issue citations to any "person" violating the district's rules, resolutions, codes, ordinances, or regulations. In this case, "person" refers to any "individuals, children, firms, associations, joint ventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations and all other groups and legal entities or combinations thereof."
Fines for violations would range from $75 to $500, with the Board-chosen magistrate given the power to assign liens against properties owned by "persons" who don't pay such fines. The overseeing magistrate would be legally required to be a licensed Florida attorney not affiliated with the District General Counsel.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board plans to enact this proposed resolution at its meeting on May 10, 2023. Previous resolutions have included making any COVID-19 vaccine or mask requirements illegal in the district and claiming "superior authority" over Reedy Creek to bypass Disney's resolution to make it powerless.
The battle between the conservative Governor and Walt Disney World Resort began in 2022, when Disney Parks fans and Cast Members protested DeSantis's Parental Rights In Education Act, better known as the "Don't Say Gay" law. Despite a warning from DeSantis, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against the anti-LGBTQIA+ law and vowed to pause donations to Florida politicians. In response, the Governor introduced legislation to dissolve Reedy Creek.
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