Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill restructuring the district encompassing the Walt Disney World Resort, transferring control of the district's board from Disney to the state of Florida.

DeSantis says the changes dissolve Disney's "corporate kingdom" while also putting it under oversight of the state government via a new state-appointed board.

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"Allowing a corporation to control its own government is bad policy, especially when the corporation makes decisions that impact an entire region,” DeSantis said. “This legislation ends Disney’s self-governing status, makes Disney live under the same laws as everybody else, and ensures that Disney pays its debts and fair share of taxes.”

The governor claims the bill will strip Disney of its special privileges, which included its own governance, while ensuring the company will pay for the debt acquired by the district. DeSantis says the bill will put Walt Disney World on the same level as the Universal Studios and SeaWorld theme parks. He signed the legislation from the Reedy Creek Fire Station No. 4 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and announced the five people he seeks to appoint to the board.

The appointees include attorneys Brian Aungst, Martin Garcia, and Michael Sasso, along with businessman Ron Peri and Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler. DeSantis said the new board will meet next Wednesday, pending appointment and confirmation by the Florida Senate.

The bill also changes the name of the Reedy Creek Improvement District to the "Central Florida Tourism Oversight District."

The Reedy Creek Improvement District was created as a special tax district giving Disney the company similar control to a district by a 1967 Florida law. Walt Disney had personally advocated the creation of the district before his death in 1966 as part of his original plans for the company's "Florida Project," which had included ideas for a living community in addition to the theme park. After Disney's death, the company scrapped plans for its Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and only used the district to build theme parks and resort hotels.

Ted Shaffrey/AP

DeSantis reevaluated Disney's control over the Reedy Creek Improvement District after the company publicly spoke out against the state's Parental Rights in Education bill.

The bill outlawed teaching classrooms from kindergarten through third grade about sexual orientation and gender identity while forbidding schools from withholding information from parents about students' health and well-being. The bill was dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by opponents, who falsely claimed it would outlaw words such as "gay" from classrooms.

After more pressure from activists within the company, Disney publicly called out the Florida government over the bill.

"Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that," the company said in a statement in March 2022.

Disney has remained relatively silent about the bill since its March 2022 statement. The company's handling of its response to the bill, which was criticized by opponents and proponents of it, has been credited as one of the reasons for former CEO Bob Chapek's firing in November 2022.

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Amid the passage of the bill through the state legislature, the company has hinted it will not challenge the new law. In a statement earlier this month, Walt Disney World Resort President Jeff Vahle said they "are ready to work within this new framework."

The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Walt Disney Company for comment.