Central Florida Taxpayers Sue Governor Ron DeSantis Over Disbanding Disney’s Reedy Creek District | Orlando Area News | Orlando

A Central Florida taxpayer group is suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over a recently signed law that would dissolve the Reedy Creek Special District from Walt Disney World.

The group is complaining for two reasons. First, they believe that Disney’s obligations under this district will be passed on to area taxpayers (a fear echoed by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings). They also believe Disney’s First Amendment rights were violated when the state passed a law they say punished Disney for its criticism of the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Michael Foronda, Edward Foronda and Vivian Gorsky are named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and they claim it. have standing because they will be liable for the old obligations of the district. The lawsuit argues that terminating Reedy Creek “would shift these major regulatory burdens onto the county, thereby increasing plaintiff’s taxes, and cause substantial harm to plaintiffs.”

They claim that the governor’s actions violate the rights protected by the First and 14th Amendments. They demand that the law be declared unconstitutional.

“The stated and undisputed reason behind the bill is to punish Disney World and subsequently the taxpayers of Florida,” the complaint states. “Even though the governor and some Republican lawmakers welcome a fight with Disney over this, they seem unwilling to follow constitutional guidelines and prior legally binding agreements involving more than $1 billion in bond issuances.”

Disney has not spoken publicly on the matter, but told investors that the district could not be dissolved without the state first assuming all of Disney’s bond obligations.

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