On Monday, I signed the regulation ending the Walt Disney Co.’s self-governing standing over 43 sq. miles in central Florida, an space virtually as massive as Miami. Disney now not has its personal authorities. It has to dwell underneath the identical legal guidelines as Common Studios, SeaWorld and each different firm in our state and continues to be on the hook for the outdated district’s municipal debt.
Disney’s particular association, which dates to 1967, was an indefensible instance of company welfare. It supplied the corporate with favorable tax therapy, together with the flexibility to evaluate its personal property valuations and to take pleasure in the advantages of regional infrastructure enhancements with out paying taxes towards the initiatives. It exempted Disney from Florida’s constructing and fire-prevention codes. It even allowed Disney to construct a nuclear energy plant and to make use of eminent area to grab non-public property exterior the district’s boundaries. Whereas particular districts are frequent in Florida, Disney’s deal was conspicuous within the large advantages it conferred. Disney’s self-governing standing endured as a result of the corporate’s unmatched political energy in Florida made its association just about untouchable.
