Reedy Creek Improvement Act

rdf:langString Reedy Creek Improvement Act

rdf:langString Reedy Creek Improvement Act

rdf:langString Florida Legislature, 1967

rdf:langString In force

rdf:langString An Act relating to the establishment, powers and functions of the Reedy Creek Improvement District; changing the name of the Reedy Creek Drainage District created under authority of Chapter 298, Florida Statutes, to the Reedy Creek Improvement District; setting forth new territorial boundaries of the District in Orange and Osceola Counties and excluding certain lands from said boundaries.

rdf:langString The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486, was a law introduced and passed in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967, which established the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as its own governmental authority which has same authority and responsibilities as a county government. The bill, which was sought by and pushed for by Disney, was signed into law by Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, allowing Disney to build the infrastructure for the second park. Ground breaking followed on May 30. In Roy O. Disney's last act as the company's CEO in 1968, he officially named the second park Walt Disney World. The status of the law has been challenged since its passage. The Supreme Court of Florida ruled in 1968 that the law did not violate any provision of the Constitution of Florida. Among the proposals that Disney lobbied to get the law passed was Walt Disney's vision of a real planned city within the property called the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), which was intended to serve as a test bed for new city-living innovations. The company however eventually decided to abandon Walt's concepts for the experimental city after his death, primarily only using the district for its own commercial interests. In April 2022, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that would repeal the Act and abolish the Reedy Creek Improvement District. On April 22, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement Act into law. This will take effect in June 2023, when the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be dissolved.