What to watch in Disney’s oversight district meeting

From: POLITICO Florida Playbook - Wednesday Sep 13,2023 11:01 am

Sep 13, 2023

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.

THE BUZZ — The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will meet at 5:05 p.m. today. (Tune in here.)

REEDY CREEK, FLORIDA - JUNE 21: (L-R) Glenton Gilzean, Jr., District administrator for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and the Board of Supervisors (L-R) Ron Peri, Martin Garcia – Chair, and Charbel Barakat – Vice Chair during a monthly meeting on June 21, 2023 in Reedy Creek, Florida. | Getty Images

The Gov. Ron DeSantis-picked board overseeing the land housing Walt Disney World is meeting this afternoon to discuss next year’s budget.

By controlling funding, the board and its administrator can make life difficult for Disney. But it can also make it tough for other residents and businesses in the area — and even for itself.

How they message: The live-streamed meetings allow the board and its administrator to showcase what they view as areas of waste and mismanagement under previous leaders loyal to Disney. But despite the caustic nature of DeSantis’ retaliation against entertainment giant, the new oversight leaders project a calm, collaborative tone at every meeting, and insist they want to make the district work better.

But they can’t control everything. The public-comment period at meetings have given Disney supporters the chance to praise the entertainment giant — and criticize the governor.

Sometimes district residents name drop DeSantis and his political battle with the company. During an emotional meeting at the end of September, district employees expressed dismay over losing access to annual Disney theme park passes because the board said they presented a conflict of interest. At that same meeting, district Administrator Glen Gilzean read a letter saying he was resigning from the state ethics commission because Florida law said he wasn't allowed to hold both his district job and the watchdog role.

That brings us to top issues to watch today:

Where do the lawsuits stand? Board members often bring up the dueling lawsuits between the state and Disney at the meeting. Disney also just narrowed its lawsuit to focus on free speech, namely alleging that DeSantis retaliated against the company for speaking out against education-related legislation.
How are other small businesses in the area affected? Some small business owners have said they’re concerned with how the overarching political battle will affect their bottom lines. These kinds of concerns underscore worries in the business community that mega-corporations might not be the only target of DeSantis’ wrath.
What happens to the Disney World annual passes for district workers? The board has proposed abolishing the arrangement in favor of a $1,000 stipend, far less than the perks workers got used to. (Playbook has learned the firefighters’ union plans to bargain over the stipend amount specifically for its members in a meeting set for September 19.)

Board members won’t vote on a final version of the budget until September 27. But as long as the board keeps holding meetings, there’ll be plenty of opportunities for the DeSantis vs. Disney feud to make headlines.

— WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will be fundraising in Greenwich, Ct. He’ll also be interviewed on Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity during the 9 p.m. EST hour.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com

... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

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The Hard Rock Cafe at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is pictured.

The Hard Rock Cafe at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is pictured on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Hollywood, Fla. | Brynn Anderson/AP Photo

MORE GAMES — The Seminole Tribe of Florida and DeSantis got another victory this week in the legal battle over a $2.5 billion gambling deal, leading to more speculation about when the Tribe may revive sports betting in the state.

A three-judge appeals court panel in late June concluded that a lower court judge had wrongly stopped the deal and that any dispute over the compact between Florida and the Tribe should be fought in state court.

The two casinos that brought the lawsuit against the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a rehearing but the request was turned down on Monday.

Gary Bitner, a spokesperson for the Seminoles, said the Tribe was "pleased.” But the Tribe did not say if it would reinstate sports betting. The Tribe had halted betting on its mobile app in December 2021 due to the litigation.

The gambling deal was a win for DeSantis back in May 2021 after he had to personally lobby state lawmakers to get the deal approved. The agreement — known as a compact — not only allowed sports betting but it also gave the Tribe the ability to add craps and roulette to its existing casinos. The deal also allows additional casinos on the Tribe’s Hollywood reservation, which is already home to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

LAND BAN — The Florida Real Estate Commission decided Tuesday that it would have two separate forms to comply with a controversial state law (SB 264) banning citizens of China and some other countries from purchasing farmland or property close to a military installation.

The law contains even more restrictions on some Chinese citizens, with DeSantis and other defenders arguing it’s for national security reasons. The law forces property buyers to sign a form attesting under penalty of perjury that they’re not breaking the law, and those who violate it could face fines and imprisonment. (There’s confusion over whether a realtor would be liable too.)

Tuesday’s meeting focused on creating the affidavit, and regulators decided after hearing testimonies that they’d create one form for purchases by individuals and another for purchases from “entities,” meaning those pertaining to businesses, a trust or an LLC.

The Associated Industries of Florida, the Real Estate Roundtable and ALEC Action raised concerns ahead of Tuesday’s meeting about how the law would get implemented, saying it could hurt the state’s economy.

Next up is the rulemaking process to get the forms finished, though a lawsuit is pending to have the law stuck down.

TRANS MEDICAL CARE RESTRICTIONS STAY IN PLACE FOR NOW — A Tallahassee federal court judge on Monday denied a request to temporarily halt new restrictions on adults seeking transgender treatments.

Federal court Judge Robert Hinkle's decision stems from a lawsuit against state policy and a new law that bans children from undergoing gender-affirming treatments, such as hormone therapy and, in rare instances, surgery. The new law, which DeSantis signed in May, also bans the use of state funds from covering those same procedures for adults.

Hinkle in June issued a narrow ruling that temporarily stopped the state from enforcing the ban on gender-affirming care for minors. But he didn't block the ban for adults on Tuesday, saying that adults can find treatment elsewhere.

The case is scheduled to go for trial in November.

The state's largest Medicaid regulator banned the publicly-subsidized program from covering transgender treatments, leading to a separate lawsuit.

— Arek Sarkissian

EV FEE — “Tampa Bay lawmaker proposes electric vehicle fee in Florida,” by News Service of Florida: “The proposal (SB 28), filed for consideration during the 2024 legislative session, seeks to impose a yearly registration fee of $200 on electric vehicles that would be in addition to regular registration fees. The cost would go up to $250 starting in 2029. An annual fee of $50 a year would be imposed on plug-in hybrids.” It’s aimed at trying to make up for lost taxes on gas.

...HURRICANE HOLE...

Makatla Ritchter (left) and her mother, Keiphra Line, wade through floodwaters in Tarpon Springs, Fla., on Wednesday.

Makatla Ritchter (left) and her mother, Keiphra Line, wade through floodwaters in Tarpon Springs, Fla., on Wednesday. Hurricane Idalia is hitting the Big Bend area. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images

IDALIA’S IMPACT — Hurricane Idalia, which collided into the northern Gulf Coast of the state two weeks ago, has resulted so far in nearly $169 million worth of insured losses, according to the latest estimates posted by the Office of Insurance Regulation. But it appears that Citizens — the state-created insurer of last resort — is not going to be inundated with a large number of claims.

Citizens Property Insurance claims officials said during a Tuesday afternoon meeting of the carrier’s claims committee that they so far had gotten about 2,000 claims associated with the Category 3 storm that has been blamed for four deaths. State insurance regulators report that the storm has generated more than 18,000 insurance claims across Florida, most of which are for residential property.

The financial health of Citizens is always closely watched because if the carrier has the power to place surcharges on its own customers — and assessments on the insurance policies of most Floridians — if it does not have enough money to cover its claims.

— Gary Fineout

CAMPAIGN MODE

MOCKING — “Newsom taunts DeSantis: ‘He’s belly-flopped,’” by POLITICO’s Jeremy White: “The best thing that could happen to DeSantis,” Newsom added, “is tomorrow, he packs it in and keeps his money and fights another day.”

DON V. RON — “Trump and DeSantis campaigns are quietly lobbying the Florida GOP over its loyalty pledge,” by NBC’s Matt Dixon: “State Sen. Joe Gruters is expected to bring a motion to rescind the Florida GOP's loyalty pledge, said a source close to the decision. Gruters, a former Florida GOP chairman and longtime Trump supporter who has quarreled with DeSantis in the past, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The motion is expected to be made at the party’s quarterly meeting Friday in Orlando.”

ON CARTELS — “Ron DeSantis says killing border crossers a ‘few times’ will deter future occurrences,” by FloridaPolitics’ A.G. Gancarski: “When somebody’s got a backpack on and they’re breaking through the wall, you know, that’s hostile intent and you have every right to take action under those circumstances. And guess what, you do that a few times, the times are a-changin’, they will have to respond to that,” DeSantis said during a Tuesday night appearance on CBS Evening News.”

DATELINE D.C.

— “Matt Gaetz threatens McCarthy with daily attempt to remove him as speaker,” by Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke

CALLED IT — “U.S. Senate hearing takes on book bans; Democrats highlight DeSantis' Florida policies,” by USA Today’s Douglas Soule: “Republicans bashed Democrats for holding the hearing in the first place, accusing them of trying to intimidate parents trying to speak out for their child. Democrats said the intimidation was coming from the minority of parents and a barrage of political outside interests trying to remove schools' books, many of them featuring diverse characters and topics.”

TRANSITIONS

Mayor Donna Deegan named Audrey Gibson as head of Jacksonville’s grants division, the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union reported.

Morgan Routman Hill is now a public affairs specialist/speechwriter for the FEMA administrator. She previously was comms director for Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.).

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

BIRTHDAYS — Berneice Cox, former CEO of the United Way of the Big Bend

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