Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has escalated his battle against The Walt Disney Company, vowing to exert more control over their land (tallahassee.com). The feud between DeSantis and Disney has been ongoing for nearly two years, when the company implemented a policy requiring on-site employees to undergo background checks (tampabay.com).
DeSantis has unveiled a new legislative push aimed at voiding a last-hour agreement made between Disney and the state (cbsnews.com). The Governor has also suggested building a state prison near Disney World as a potential option to assert control over Disney properties (usatoday.com).
If passed, the new legislation would give DeSantis more control over land use planning at the theme park, and possibly limit Disney’s ability to develop within its boundaries without state government approval (nytimes.com). The legislative push comes after DeSantis faced criticism from some of his conservative supporters for backing off earlier attempts to exert control over Walt Disney World (reuters.com).
DeSantis and Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton have previously criticized Disney for not following state requirements for reporting the amount of hazardous waste they generate in a timely manner (tampabay.com). And now it seems that their feud has escalated to a new level, with Disney’s current agreement with the state potentially being “void” (nytimes.com).
The Governor’s latest move has sparked new questions surrounding his relationship with Disney and its potential impact on tourism in Florida (deadline.com). It remains to be seen how this battle will play out, but it is clear that DeSantis is not backing down in his efforts to assert more control over one of Florida’s biggest tourist attractions.
