TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) —There’s a new push to dismantle the state-controlled Disney oversight district created by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
One state lawmaker says she’s tired of the power struggle over what used to be the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID).
State Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat from Orange County, says it’s time for things to return to how they were. It’s a sentiment shared by some in her community.
“We have legal residents here, but we have no say in what the district does,” said William Sterner, a longtime resident of Lake Buena Vista.
Just hours earlier, he learned the governor’s new Disney oversight board plans on cutting some services to his city. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District gave notice of the changes, which will come in January.
Bottom line: This all means, taxes could be going up.
“What’s going to happen to us? You know, we live here,” said William.
“Right now this new board is creating havoc,” said Sen. Stewart.
Sen. Stewart says it’s time to dismantle the Desantis-controlled district. She plans to introduce a bill to reverse the changes and to restore the RCID “as it existed on February 26, 2023.”
“Today, the corp kingdom comes to an end, there’ a new sheriff in town,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference on Feb. 27.
The feud started when Disney spoke out against the governor’s Parental Rights in Education Act.
For decades, Walt Disney World had a special status in Florida. It was allowed to largely self-regulate. DeSantis ended that.
“They have no transparency,” said Sen. Stewart. “They gave a contract to a 911 operator for a million dollars without any bid, it was just a friend of a friend.”
“The morale is horrible.”
So does the bill have any chance of passing the GOP-controlled state legislature?
“I’m not expecting it to particularly pass. What I’m expecting is that the people who voted for this pathway understand the consequences and that they would reverse their decision based on that,” said Sen. Stewart.
8 On Your Side reached out to the governor’s office for comment.