Global Courant 2023-04-20 22:54:53
Stickers and clothing promoting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lie on a table before a book tour at the North Charleston Coliseum on April 19, 2023 in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Sean Rayford| Getty Images
disney is preparing to take the battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his GOP allies in the state legislature to the next level, according to people familiar with the matter.
With just weeks until the end of Florida’s legislative session, Disney is urging lobbyists to step up efforts to influence Republican-controlled legislatures and target land-use bills the company faces. could harm, among other measures, said the people, who declined to be named to speak freely about the problems.
A Disney spokesperson declined to comment on the lobbying efforts.
The battle between the entertainment giant and DeSantis began last year after Disney opposed a Florida bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics that would ban sexual orientation and gender identity education in public schools for kindergarten through college. third class.
Before DeSantis could strip the district where Disney is located from its self-governing status and replace the board overseeing the area, a Disney-affiliated panel signed a long-term development agreement that drastically limited the governor’s control. DeSantis has said state legislators are drafting legislation to reverse that agreement.
Republican officials and business leaders have increasingly criticized DeSantis’ salvos against the company. Former President Donald Trump and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — two of Florida’s 2024 governor’s potential rivals — and even former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein have all pushed DeSantis back over his battles with the company.
As DeSantis suggested Monday that he wanted to develop land near Disney World, possibly building a prison, Disney announced that “affordable and viable housing” is around the park. set to open in 2026.
Florida Republican Senator Blaise Ingoglia warned Disney not to fight back while standing next to DeSantis at a news conference Monday.
“I have a few words for Disney. You’re not going to win this fight. This governor will,” Ingoglia said. “One piece of advice for Disney going forward: Let it go. Just let it go.”
At the same event, DeSantis vowed to nullify an agreement that would allow the Orlando theme park to bypass a special district council of DeSantis appointees.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions at a news conference at Seminole State College in Sanford, Florida, Monday, May 16, 2022.
Joe Burbank| Orlando Sentinel | Getty Images
Shortly after DeSantis’ comments on Monday, Disney executives called on lobbyists to keep an eye on Florida bills that could harm the company and act aggressively against them, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. There is a particular interest in challenging land use laws following DeSantis’s comments, the person said.
The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about Disney’s plans, told CNBC that one of the land-related bills that Disney lobbyists are keeping a close eye on is CS/SB 1604: Land Use and Development Regulations. Ingoglia introduced the bill in the Senate and an identical measure was proposed in the state House.
Both chambers have tabled amendments that could affect Disney. The measures would allow a “newly elected or appointed independent special district governing body,” such as the DeSantis-appointed Disney district governing body, to review development agreements and have the ability to vote on whether that district would reinstate it. will approve. original development agreement.
Both amendments were tabled Tuesday, the day after DeSantis’ press conference where he hammered Disney, according to the Legislature’s website.
Disney and CEO Bob Iger don’t seem to take the latest moves by DeSantis and his allies lightly.
Friends of Iger say the Disney CEO might hope that a new lobby against DeSantis and allies, along with a critical public perception of the governor’s actions, could dissuade enough Republican officials from siding with the governor. DeSantis effectively controls the state legislature with a GOP supermajority.
“It’s almost like every time DeSantis says these crazy things, Bob comes first,” an old ally of Iger’s told CNBC. “He feels Disney is up for the fight, but I think he sees the governor trying to float his own boat on this boat.”
A Disney spokesperson told CNBC that this perception of Iger is “not accurate.”
Bob Iger, CEO, Disney, during CNBC interview, February 9, 2023.
Randy Schropshire | CNBC
DeSantis’ potential rivals in a presidential primary have seized the controversy as an opportunity to stick with Florida’s governor. Trump, who is running for president, and Christie, another potential 2024 candidate, have both tore DeSantis for his war with Disney.
“Disney’s next step will be announcing that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the governor — they could even announce a slow pullout or sale of certain properties or the whole thing,” Trump said in a Truth Social. post response to DeSantis’ latest battle with the company, citing no evidence that the company could take those steps.
Early GOP primaries show DeSantis as the second leading candidate behind Trump. The ex-president has had a huge lead in most recent polls.
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The Disney feud could also cost DeSantis donors. Some Republican mega-donors, who were once staunchly in DeSantis’ corner for the 2024 GOP, recently called the governor’s allies to say they might not help him run for president, according to a longtime ally of DeSantis. Instead, they said they could support another possible candidate in Senator Tim Scott, RS.C., this person said.
However, there may be a way out of the protracted struggle. Before DeSantis’ latest attack, Iger had hinted until Time that he was open to trying to make amends with the governor.
“I don’t consider this a matter of going to bed for us. If the governor of Florida would like to meet with me to discuss all this, I would of course be happy to do so,” he said.
Iger has also publicly ripped DeSantis’ treatment from Disney.
