Current Events > Turns out DeSantis can't really just dissolve Disney's Reedy Creek District

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/the-contractual-impossibility-of-unwinding-disneys-reedy-creek

In authorizing Reedy Creek to issue bonds, the Florida legislature included a remarkable statementincluded in Reedy Creeks bond offeringsregarding its own promise to bondholders: The State of Florida pledges to the holders of any bonds issued under this Act that it will not limit or alter the rights of the District to own, acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, operate or furnish the projects or to levy and collect the taxes, assessments, rentals, rates, fees, tolls, fares and other charges provided for herein until all such bonds together with interest thereon, and all costs and expenses in connection with any action or proceeding by or on behalf of such holders, are fully met and discharged.

The bill dissolving Reedy Creek doesnt say what should happen to these debts, but another statute does: By default, the local general-purpose governmentthe countyassumes the districts debt, along with all of its assets. This means that theoretically, Orange and Osceola counties will inherit upward of $1 billion in bond debt.

So in addition to saddling the Orange and Osceola counties with providing municipal services to Disney, the State with upkeep of the roads, it also saddles that billion dollar of bond debt on Orange and Osceola counties. Seems wise.

Lmfao

It's not like the law stops him from anything

Dude is such a fucking moron

DarkRoast posted...

It's not like the law stops him from anything

It's becoming increasingly clear that laws only really apply to democrats, since republicans seem to just ignore them whenever they want without any real consequences.

what a fucking dumb ass state

they are so far checked out of reality they think Florida has any power over Disney.

Disney is a multinational entity that largely exists above national governments with offices and parks everywhere... and Florida assumes that Disney actually WANTS to be in Florida.

This is a really really good example of cutting off ones nose to spite its face.

If you read further the whole thing may not even be legal due to the contract violations therein.

Both the U.S. and Florida constitutions place strict limitations on the governments ability to impair its own contracts. Under the U.S. Constitution, a state can only impair an existing contract if the impairment is reasonable and necessary to serve an important government purpose. As early as 1866, the U.S. Supreme Court held that once a local government issues a bond based on an authorized taxing power, the state is contract-bound and cannot eliminate the taxing power supporting the bond. The Florida Constitution provides even greater protection from impairment of contracts.
With this law, the state of Florida has eliminated the government entity that backed the various bonds while violating its own explicit promise not to do so. It is hard to imagine a way that the state could successfully argue that this did not violate its own contractual obligations or unconstitutionally impair the contract between Reedy Creek and the bondholders. Florida could theoretically get rid of some of these contractual issues by writing a giant check to prepay or redeem the bonds, but thats prevented by at least one of the outstanding bonds2018s utility revenue bond prohibits redemption until October of 2029.

I mean Disney was being very quiet. But their lawyers probably already knew this would keep them safe.

ScazarMeltex posted...

If you read further the whole thing may not even be legal due to the contract violations therein.

Both the U.S. and Florida constitutions place strict limitations on the governments ability to impair its own contracts. Under the U.S. Constitution, a state can only impair an existing contract if the impairment is reasonable and necessary to serve an important government purpose. As early as 1866, the U.S. Supreme Court held that once a local government issues a bond based on an authorized taxing power, the state is contract-bound and cannot eliminate the taxing power supporting the bond. The Florida Constitution provides even greater protection from impairment of contracts.
With this law, the state of Florida has eliminated the government entity that backed the various bonds while violating its own explicit promise not to do so. It is hard to imagine a way that the state could successfully argue that this did not violate its own contractual obligations or unconstitutionally impair the contract between Reedy Creek and the bondholders. Florida could theoretically get rid of some of these contractual issues by writing a giant check to prepay or redeem the bonds, but thats prevented by at least one of the outstanding bonds2018s utility revenue bond prohibits redemption until October of 2029.

On one hand fuck DeSantis.

On the other hand this is literally Shadowrun.

he expects to be in DC before any of this catches up to him.

ScazarMeltex posted...

also saddles that billion dollar of bond debt on Orange and Osceola counties.

So da blue counties, just as he planned

Never thought I'd be rooting for Disney

Tyranthraxus posted...

On one hand fuck DeSantis.

On the other hand this is literally Shadowrun.

To a degree yes. It's not quite corporate sovereignty in the way of Shadowrun because it's still bound by Federal and State statutes. It's those statutes that are in fact limiting Florida's ability to strip Disney's status. They can, they just have to wait until the last bond is paid off in 2029. Something they should have considered be guaranteeing the bonds to the purchasors.

You have to remember that for the most part the Reedy Creek district was created because the state and counties did not want to have to provide service to the massive amounts of land that Disney was developing. Development that in the long run has made the state far far more than it ever would have paid out in services.

So yeah, DeSantis should have absolutely known better, the states lawyers should have been able to tell them that this would backfire. On the other hand maybe we should look at this whole fucking mess and say "perhaps corporations are far too enmeshed in our political and legal system and we should act to prevent that from occurring in the future".

DeathSantis is going to have to suck some major cock to backtrack on this abject failure.