Ron DeSantis is again threatening Walt Disney Co.
(Bloomberg) — Ron DeSantis is again threatening Walt Disney Co.
The Florida governor said that he’s looking for ways to reverse changes that Disney pushed through two months ago to weaken the municipal authority that governs its Florida theme parks and was hand-picked by DeSantis.
“They thought they could create some kind of development agreement that would essentially render everything that we did null and void, and put them in control for perpetuity,” DeSantis said in a press conference on Monday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. “Now that’s not going to work, that’s not going to fly.”
DeSantis foreshadowed more actions against Disney, including studies on what to do with the land owned by the district itself, which could mean creating a state park or another amusement park near Disney.
“Someone even said maybe you need another prison. Who knows? The possibilities are endless,” he said.
Disney declined to comment.
Read more: DeSantis Takes Aim at Wall Street After Vendetta Against Disney
The feud between DeSantis and Disney kicked off last year when the entertainment giant criticized a law the governor signed limiting elementary school teachings about gender identity. In retaliation, DeSantis seized control of the board that managed the day-to-day operations of Disney’s theme parks in Florida and appointed his own people.
Disney though was able to get the district’s outgoing board to quietly approve restricting the powers the new board members would have for decades, including their ability to review theme-park expansions and billboard advertising.
DeSantis said those limits will be undone through a new bill that will be brought forward next week.
The DeSantis-appointed board will also study accelerating the payment of the about $1 billion in debt issued by the district, he said. The district could possibly raise cash by selling the utility that provides it services to a private operator, DeSantis said.
(Adds no comment from Disney in the sixth paragraph)
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