TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In a special legislative session Monday, Florida House Republicans unveiled new legislation that would rename Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District and assert state control over it.

Under the 189 page proposal, lawmakers would rename it as the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.” They would also oust Disney appointees and install state authority over the board. 

If passed, it will mark the end of a 55-year-old agreement between the state and the company. Republican lawmakers say the agreement made the company overly powerful.

“Reedy Creek has the right to issue government debt. People need to ask themselves as a matter of public policy: is it a good idea for a private corporation to issue hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in government bonds? That’s just a bad idea. This will say, like every other special district in the State of Florida, that they’re accountable to the voters of Florida, which they are not today,” Republican Rep. Randy Fine said.

The decision to dissolve the special district came after Disney’s stance against the “Parental Rights in Education Act” — called the “Don’t Say Gay” law by detractors — last year.

The bill also vows to shield Orange and Osceola counties from taking on the district’s $1 billion debt.

Political analysts from both parties, however, agree that bringing the district under state control could get messy.

“They don’t know how to undo this — they can’t figure it out,” Orange County Democrats Chair Wes Hodge said. “They’ve had all this time to look at it, and we’re still not any better or have any more clarity on this issue than we did a year ago when they started this whole fight.”

Republican Political Analyst Eddie Fernandez agrees that dissolving Reedy Creek would pose some challenges.

“Reedy Creek, in and of itself, is a unique district in the state of Florida, and so from that perspective, having it under state control would be unprecedented,” Fernandez said. “It has gotten the governor a tremendous amount of national attention, earned media, and I think that Floridians are split on this issue.”

Democratic Rep. Anna Eskaman feels the public should have more input.

“These issues are being dealt with behind closed doors. I can only assume that Walt Disney World, alongside Reedy Creek, and the governor’s office are trying to work out a compromise where the governor looks like he wins. I assume if Disney is happy with the outcome, they’ll restart their political giving to the governor. Candidly, I think a lot of this is happening behind the scenes and it’s a disgrace to our democratic process and our legislature.”

The special session will run through Friday. Lawmakers will tackle several other issues, including emergency response to hurricane victims, election laws, immigration, and college athletes cashing in on their fame.

The regular 2023 Legislative Session starts in March.