Things winding thru the Florida Courts….
Democratic Central state lawmakers want to reverse Florida Governor DeSantis’s action against Disney….
The state’s lawmakers
A group of Florida state legislators voted on Friday to move forward with a bill that would reverse Governor Ron DeSantis’ successful effort last year to strip the Walt Disney Co. of control of a special district that oversees the company’s theme park properties.
But the bill has long odds in getting very far in the Republican-controlled Florida legislature.
That said, Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Orange County, said that the bill “begins the conversation” by saying that the process to replace the board “was rushed.”…
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Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, said that she wanted to see local officials on the board. The members of the newly named Central Florida Tourism Oversight District were picked by DeSantis last year, after the state legislature voted to reconstitute the district. The district was formed in 1967, at the time that Disney was developing its property, and had operated since then as a kind of self-government, with the company effective controlling its board. Disney is far and away the largest landowner within the district.
A federal judge is expected to rule soon on whether to allow Disney’s lawsuit against DeSantis and his hand-picked board to move forward. The company sued last spring, claiming that DeSantis’ actions were retaliation in violation of the First Amendment after Disney came out against parental rights legislation, known by detractors as the “don’t say gay” bill…..