© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during his 2022 US midterm election night party in Tampa, Florida, U.S., November 8, 2022. REUTERS/ Marco Bello/File Photo
(Reuters) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stepped up his fight against Walt Disney (NYSE:) Co, which is seeking to void a deal Disney approved to limit the power of a DeSantis-appointed board to oversee its Florida theme park property.
Speaking Thursday at Hillsdale College in Michigan, DeSantis said the legislature would rescind changes Disney made shortly before losing control of the board.
“They are not superior to the people of Florida. So whatever happens, we will make sure that Florida politics takes the day,” said the governor of Florida.
“We’re going to look at things like hotel taxes, we’re going to look at things like highway tolls, we’re going to look at things like development of some of the properties that the district owns,” DeSantis added. , widely considered a 2024 presidential candidate.
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on DeSantis’ comments. Earlier in the week, however, Chief Executive Bob Iger responded to DeSantis, calling his apparent retaliation against Disney for taking a position on the legislation “anti-business.” Disney has opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, referred to by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which restricts classroom discussion of sexual orientation and identity of gender.
Florida lawmakers approved a bill in February that gives DeSantis effective control over a board that oversees municipal services and development in a special district that encompasses the Walt Disney World resort.
However, before DeSantis’ appointees took over, Disney pushed through changes to the tax district’s special agreement that limits board action for decades.
“What Disney has tried to do is try to say that they should be able to operate outside of the context of our constitutional system in Florida,” DeSantis said Thursday.