Reedy Creek Improvement Act
The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486,[1] was a law introduced and passed in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967 establishing the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort (the Reedy Creek Improvement District) as its own county governmental authority, which granted it the same authority and responsibilities as a county government.[2][3][4]
Reedy Creek Improvement Act
The bill, which was sought by and pushed for by Disney,[5] was signed into law by Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, allowing Disney to build the infrastructure for the second park.[6] Ground breaking followed on May 30.[7] In Roy O. Disney's last act as the company's CEO in 1968, he officially named the second park Walt Disney World.[8]
The status of the law has been challenged since its passage. In 1968, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled that the law did not violate any provision of the Constitution of Florida.[9] Among the proposals that Disney lobbied to get the law passed was Walt Disney's vision of a real planned city within the property called the ''Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), which was intended to serve as a test bed for new city-living innovations. The company however eventually decided to abandon Walt's concepts for the experimental city after his death, primarily only using the district for its own commercial interests.[10]
The Florida Legislature passed a bill that would repeal the Act and abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District. On April 22, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement Act; The District dissolved June 2023.[11]
Background[edit]
When initially planning the resort back in the 1960s, Walt Disney felt that it would be easier to carry out his proposals with more flexibility and independence with his own specialized, personalized government.[12] Among his ideas for his Florida project was his "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), which was to be a real planned city that would have also been used as a test bed for new innovations for city living.[10]
In an effort to lobby the Florida legislature to create the district, Walt Disney shot a 25-minute long film on October 27, 1966, two months before his death, in which he explained his plans for Disney World and how the EPCOT city would interrelate with other aspects of the property.[13] In December 1966, a legislative hearing had been held on the law, where advocates for Disney and the company's law firm reportedly testified. Joe Potter, later a manager of the district, pushed for the legislation, as did Herb Gee, a Florida engineer.[5] Walt Disney's EPCOT film was also screened for Florida legislators on February 2, 1967.[13] These efforts were part of the Disney company's petitioning for the creation of the district, with the planned EPCOT city said to be part of this district.[14]
Provisions[edit]
The law created a special-purpose taxing district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) which would have "same authority and responsibility" as a county government, including providing "essential" public services, such as firefighters and police.[4][15][16][17] The RCID can also impose taxes and run government services from that revenue. The law also created two cities, the municipalities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake which are currently within the boundary of Walt Disney World.[18]
The 92-page law states that the district comprises nearly 25,000 acres in the counties of Osceola and Orange, with the primary landowner as the Walt Disney World Company. The law further says that the projects oriented toward recreation, economic development, and tourism within the boundaries of the district met a public purpose and would benefit "all properties, persons, and enterprises within the district." The law also states that the RCID will still be subject to Florida state laws that "guide its governance."[15] The only areas where the district had to submit to the county and state would be property taxes and elevator inspections.[10] The law also states that the governing body of the RCID, the board of supervisors, is chosen by the landowners inside the district, with Disney as the largest landowner in the district.[19] According to Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor, the law essentially gives Disney the "power of self-government" inside the defined district.[20]
Signature into law[edit]
On May 12, 1967, Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. signed the following statutes to implement Disney's plans, specifically Chapter 67-764 which created the Reedy Creek Improvement District; Chapter 67-1104 which established the City of Bay Lake; and Chapter 67-1965 which established the City of Reedy Creek (later renamed as the City of Lake Buena Vista around 1970).[1][21][22] According to a press conference held in Winter Park, Florida on February 2, 1967, by Disney Vice President Donn Tatum, the Improvement District and Cities were created to serve "the needs of those residing there", because the company needed its own government to "clarify the District's authority to [provide services] within the District's limits", and because of the public nature of the planned development. The original city boundaries did not cover the whole Improvement District; they may have been intended as the areas where communities would be built for residential use.[10][14]
Political and legal challenges[edit]
The status of the district and law have been challenged in the past. For instance, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled in the 1968 case State v. Reedy Creek Improvement District that the law did not violate any provision of the Constitution of Florida.[9] In the 1980s, officials from Orange County, Florida, threatened legal action against Disney over the charter to RCID. However, the company and officials came to an agreement in 1989 whereby Disney paid $13 million for road improvement outside the property it owned while the county agreed to not challenge the charter of RCID until 1996.[28] One official, Lou Treadway, a county commissioner, even described Disney as the largest taxpayer and employer in the county which causes "some of the greatest impact" in the county itself.[29]
After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida House Bill 1557 on March 28, 2022, Disney released a statement that its goal is for the law to be repealed or struck down.[30] In a possible act of retaliation, DeSantis and Florida lawmakers threatened to repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.[2][3][31] These lawmakers include Spencer Roach, a Florida House Representative, who tweeted on March 30, 2022, that Florida legislators had held meetings to discuss repealing the law, arguing that the RCID should be under the jurisdiction of the Orange County, Florida, government rather than be self-governing.[32][33] Roach also called RCID the "largest tax evasion scam in Florida history" and argued the district was opposed to "free markets".[29] Their views were also echoed by U.S. representative Matt Gaetz, who called the company a "rodent."[34]
Although a political analyst for News 6, Jim Clark, argued that the repeal of the law would be a "disaster" for Disney, Richard Foglesong, a former political science professor at Rollins College argued that it isn't "politically possible" to repeal the law.[32] Roach later acknowledged that a bill to repeal the law would probably not be introduced until 2023 and described his call for repeal as "just an idea" he was discussing with fellow legislators in order to correct an "aberration of the free market".[35] Anna Eskamani, who represents Orlando, Florida, argued that there hadn't been an "evidence-based analysis" on the impact of the RCID, and described calls for repeal as an action by DeSantis as indicating that those who challenge him "will be punished."[36] She also called DeSantis' call for repeal "truly performative."[37]