by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:45 PM ET, Wed March 27, 2024
The Walt Disney Company announced on Wednesday that it had reached a settlement agreement with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state government.
According to The
Associated Press, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District approved
the settlement agreement after almost two years of court battles between Gov. DeSantis’
administration and Disney.
“This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive
engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of
all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of
thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the state,” Walt
Disney World Resort President Jeff Vahle told The AP.
In response to critical comments made by Disney, Gov.
DeSantis helped pass legislation that handed over power of the entertainment
company’s governing district to the state, which appointed a new board of
supervisors.
Disney filed a lawsuit claiming that Gov. DeSantis violated
the company’s free speech rights, but a federal judge dismissed
the case in January. Before the new appointees took over, though, the
existing governing district members passed several “eleventh-hour” regulations.
As part of the settlement agreement between Gov. DeSantis
and Disney, the “development agreement, restrictive covenants,” and other decisions
made before Florida’s new board of supervisors took over are no longer
considered valid.
Officials from the governing district will use a plan
originally issued in 2020 as the groundwork, with the new board able to make amendments.
Disney and the new board plan to eventually negotiate a new development
agreement.
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