ContractsProf Blog

Editor: Jeremy Telman
Oklahoma City University
School of Law

Monday, April 3, 2023

The Magic Kingdom Pulls a Sleight-of-Hand on Governor DeSantis

DeSantisFor over a year, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida (left) has been trying to curb the independence of the state's top employer, The Disney Company. Because of a special agreement between Disney and the state, Disney governs its 25,000 acre theme park as though it were a county, according to Brooks Barnes writing in The New York Times.  But Disney came into conflict with Governor DeSantis over an education reform known by its opponents as the "Don't Say Gay Law."  Disney and Orlando have quietly become a haven for LGBTQ+ people, as reported last year in The Guardian.  Governor DeSantis hoped to retaliate against Disney for its opposition to the new law by terminating Disney's power over its special tax district.

But things did not go as planned.  If the special task district were abolished, the costs of maintaining it would have to be absorbed by neighboring counties, and the district was carrying $1 billion in debt.  So, the legislature passed a new plan in February.  Disney would retain control over the special tax district but its five-member board would now consist entirely of appointees named by the Governor.   Among others, Governor DeSantis appointed Ron Peri, chief executive of a Christian ministry in Orlando and adherent of the theory that tap water turns people gay.  

Now that's just silly.  Everyone knows that tap water only turns frogs gay.  

Disney+_logo.svgBut Disney had a countermove.  As Brooks Barnes reports, on February 8th, the old board "passed restrictive covenants and a development agreement giving the company vast control over future construction in the district; the new board doesn’t have any say."  You can view the document on the Orlando Sentinel's website here. Disney complied with all requirements  for open public meetings under Florida's Sunshine Laws.  Nonetheless, the board's actions seems to have passed unnoticed, perhaps because the Governor's attention is focused more on his Presidential campaign than on governing his state, or simply because state officials underestimated the ingenuity of private ordering.  The covenants “[s]hall continue in effect until twenty one (21) years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England living as of the date of this declaration.” 

I checked in with my next-door neighbor, property prof, Carla Spivack, who assures me that the above-quoted language is consistent with the Rule Against Perpetuities.  Disney is clearly no Mickey-Mouse operations.  They hired actual lawyers to do this work, and the lawyers apparently decided to have some fun with it.  

Behold the power of private legislation to fend off some pretty aggressive public legislation. 

Somehow, I'm thinking this ain't over.

April 3, 2023 in Commentary, Current Affairs, Government Contracting, In the News | Permalink | Comments (0)