Federal judge dismisses Florida taxpayer lawsuit over Disney World district
LA TimesRon DeSantis speaks during a news conference in January, joined by members of Congress and others. A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a taxpayer lawsuit from Florida residents who sued the state and its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, over a decision to dissolve Walt Disney Co.’s special self-governing district near Orlando. The legal battle is part of the broader fallout from Disney’s fight with Florida over the Parental Rights in Education law, which opponents have derisively nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. DeSantis last month signed a law that would eliminate Disney’s special tax and self-ruling status in central Florida by axing the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was created by the state Legislature in 1967 to essentially give Disney its own municipal government. Additionally, Altonaga noted that the law eliminating the district does not go into effect until July 1 and called the taxpayers’ claims of harm “highly speculative.” “Plaintiffs’ theory of standing is that the elimination of the Reedy Creek Improvement District might result in financial harm to Plaintiffs by virtue of a tax increase that has not yet been enacted,” Altonaga wrote.