Are there any lawyers willing to speculate?

[WonderlandisReality]

Has anyone heard whether the meeting will be televised/streamed anywhere? (I know news stations aren’t generally too interested in local government meetings, but I’m guessing there’ll be plenty of interest now ).

In 2020 some of the local government meetings were available to stream/listen to. I remember following one rather closely that came shortly before the re opening announcement. There were some super helpful people who had posts regarding comments to be on the lookout for (and I remember getting quite excited when they were mentioned). I think given the interest you have a chance of finding it somewhere but I haven’t any idea where to start looking.

 

[bcla]

In 2020 some of the local government meetings were available to stream/listen to. I remember following one rather closely that came shortly before the re opening announcement. There were some super helpful people who had posts regarding comments to be on the lookout for (and I remember getting quite excited when they were mentioned). I think given the interest you have a chance of finding it somewhere but I haven’t any idea where to start looking.

The new district is still using the rcid.org website and post when meetings are happening. Looks like the meetings are gaining interest where they're going to a hotel ballroom (at the B Resort in Disney Springs) rather than the moderately sized meeting room at the RCID headquarters. There are no links or an agenda yet.

https://www.rcid.org/meetings/​

RCID Board of Supervisors Meeting​

DATE & TIME:Apr 19, 2023 at 9:30 AM​

LOCATION:B Resort (Grand Ballroom) - 1905 Hotel Plaza Blvd., Lake Buena Vista​

04-19-23 BOS Agenda​

I suppose it might be possible that someone chooses to set up a camera on a tripod to stream/record the meeting.

I looked it up and Grand Ballroom can be partitioned into 5 separate rooms with theater seating capacities from 150 to 1000. They don't have any photos of it in a theater configuration though.

https://www.bresortlbv.com/meetings-events/

 

[gmi3804]

I love the title of this thread. All I could think of, there are probably plenty of non-lawyers here willing to speculate!

 

[hildarumpole]

DeSantis wields so much power in FL he can pretty much rewrite the state constitution if he wants to though. It’s just a matter of what he thinks he can do without turning his current and future voters against him.

That's not how it works. Amendments to the state constitution are put up to the voters to decide and require 60% threshold for approval.

 

[UofMGuy423]

As a lawyer, it means relatively nothing. They could also pass a resolution that says they have the power to fire Disney’s CEO. It means nothing and isn’t enforceable. Its just a ploy to try and grab headlines to change the narrative of a battle DeSantis clearly lost.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

I refuse to type the name .

Voldemort is the governor of Florida Wow, you think you are on top of the news and then you learn something like this ....

 

[bbeagle]

As a lawyer, it means relatively nothing. They could also pass a resolution that says they have the power to fire Disney’s CEO. It means nothing and isn’t enforceable. Its just a ploy to try and grab headlines to change the narrative of a battle DeSantis clearly lost.

Originally, DeSantis wanted to disolve Reedy Creek completely. (Which he decided against because the over $1 Billion in Disney bonds would have to be paid by the taxpayers of Florida. So he simply renamed it and put his people in charge of it.)

DeSantis lost that option now. He can't even dissolve Reedy Creek anymore. Reedy Creek holds very little powers anymore. So removing the district would just move the $1 Billion in bonds to taxpayers with no 'punishment' against Disney.

So DeSantis is in far worse position than he was just a few months ago.

 

[bcla]

Originally, DeSantis wanted to disolve Reedy Creek completely. (Which he decided against because the over $1 Billion in Disney bonds would have to be paid by the taxpayers of Florida. So he simply renamed it and put his people in charge of it.)

DeSantis lost that option now. He can't even dissolve Reedy Creek anymore. Reedy Creek holds very little powers anymore. So removing the district would just move the $1 Billion in bonds to taxpayers with no 'punishment' against Disney.

So DeSantis is in far worse position than he was just a few months ago.

He’s been pretty clear that part of his goal in establishing the new district was a hope that the appointed board could apply leverage to Disney in terms of editorial and creative decisions that might occur outside of Florida. Where would it end? ABC News? ESPN? 538?

https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-disney-board-florida-reedy-creek-1784261​

During a press conference Monday, DeSantis hinted that the new conservative board will not only take control of Disney's self-governing body at its theme parks. It may also have an influence in stopping the company "trying to inject woke ideology" on children in the content it produces.​

​

"When you lose your way, you've got to have people that are going to tell you the truth," DeSantis said. "So we hope they can get back on. But I think all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate."​

​

While the board doesn't have direct power over the creative content, it could prove to be a highly influential body because it has a say in the money Disney is allowed to spend.​

​

As noted by The Washington Post, a Disney employee who was present at the bill signing gave Little Demon as an example of the apparently dangerous content being produced by Disney. It is an adult animated series about Satan's teenage daughter that is streamed on FX Networks, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment.​

 

[soniam]

Originally, DeSantis wanted to disolve Reedy Creek completely. (Which he decided against because the over $1 Billion in Disney bonds would have to be paid by the taxpayers of Florida. So he simply renamed it and put his people in charge of it.)

DeSantis lost that option now. He can't even dissolve Reedy Creek anymore. Reedy Creek holds very little powers anymore. So removing the district would just move the $1 Billion in bonds to taxpayers with no 'punishment' against Disney.

So DeSantis is in far worse position than he was just a few months ago.

I love when a plan comes together

 

[Isamar]

The new district is still using the rcid.org website and post when meetings are happening. Looks like the meetings are gaining interest where they're going to a hotel ballroom (at the B Resort in Disney Springs) rather than the moderately sized meeting room at the RCID headquarters. There are no links or an agenda yet.

https://www.rcid.org/meetings/​

RCID Board of Supervisors Meeting​

DATE & TIME:Apr 19, 2023 at 9:30 AM​

LOCATION:B Resort (Grand Ballroom) - 1905 Hotel Plaza Blvd., Lake Buena Vista​

04-19-23 BOS Agenda​

I suppose it might be possible that someone chooses to set up a camera on a tripod to stream/record the meeting.

I looked it up and Grand Ballroom can be partitioned into 5 separate rooms with theater seating capacities from 150 to 1000. They don't have any photos of it in a theater configuration though.

https://www.bresortlbv.com/meetings-events/

Thank you!

 

[bcla]

Thank you!

Plan on going?

 

[HokieRaven5]

Just an update to the other request from the Florida AG pertaining RCID:

FL Attorney General Comes Up Empty-Handed in Ongoing Battle with Disney

Friday afternoon, the Orlando Sentinel reportedthat Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has come up empty-handed on a public records request. Moody hoped to gain insight into agreements the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s board made with Disney ahead of the state’s government takeover.

The district that now oversees government services for Walt Disney World specified that “no records exist” for that request filed on March 30th by Moody’s office.

This request was sent as part of the state’s investigation into the agreements that went into effect before the government took control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District earlier this year.

According to the request, Moody sought “documents discussing an intention or goal of circumventing, avoiding, frustrating, mitigating or otherwise attempting to avoid the effects of anticipated actions by the Florida governor and the Florida Legislature.” The Sentinel also reports that Moody’s request sought “copies of emails, text messages, and other correspondence from board members, district employees, and other affiliates related to the deals.”

Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard wrote to all five hand-selected board members “seeking any communications regarding the agreements on their personal devices.”

According to spokesperson Whitney Ray, the attorney general’s office is reviewing the district’s response and evaluating its options

 

[Isamar]

Plan on going?

I’m in Canada, so no . But if I was going to be at Disney, I would absolutely go.

 

[bcla]

Just an update to the other request from the Florida AG pertaining RCID:

FL Attorney General Comes Up Empty-Handed in Ongoing Battle with Disney

Friday afternoon, the Orlando Sentinel reportedthat Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has come up empty-handed on a public records request. Moody hoped to gain insight into agreements the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s board made with Disney ahead of the state’s government takeover.

The district that now oversees government services for Walt Disney World specified that “no records exist” for that request filed on March 30th by Moody’s office.

This request was sent as part of the state’s investigation into the agreements that went into effect before the government took control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District earlier this year.

According to the request, Moody sought “documents discussing an intention or goal of circumventing, avoiding, frustrating, mitigating or otherwise attempting to avoid the effects of anticipated actions by the Florida governor and the Florida Legislature.” The Sentinel also reports that Moody’s request sought “copies of emails, text messages, and other correspondence from board members, district employees, and other affiliates related to the deals.”

Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard wrote to all five hand-selected board members “seeking any communications regarding the agreements on their personal devices.”

According to spokesperson Whitney Ray, the attorney general’s office is reviewing the district’s response and evaluating its options

I would suspect that when Disney went about doing this, they went through everything by the book. They knew that the outgoing board would rubber stamp everything in open meetings.

Besides that, the previous board legally was beholden to the voters, which by construction was only Disney employees/retirees and their families. They were never accountable to the Governor.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I would suspect that when Disney went about doing this, they went through everything by the book. They knew that the outgoing board would rubber stamp everything in open meetings.

Besides that, the previous board legally was beholden to the voters, which by construction was only Disney employees/retirees and their families. They were never accountable to the Governor.

Agreed, I had little doubt that Disney and their lawyers followed the book on it, and that RCID followed their usual procedures for it, was just sharing the result of the inquiry for informational purposes.

 

[mdmost]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1647045191709204484

 

[bcla]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1647045191709204484

I had a look at that and noticed one respondent to the tweet thinks that the lack of any paper/text/email trail is problematic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1647046826757947392

But that in and of itself isn't a legal problem. The former RCID and Disney say that everything was done in accordance with Florida's open meetings and sunshine laws. The new board has access to all of the old board's emails and texts and couldn't find anything responsive to the Florida AG's request. It doesn't mean that Disney wasn't allowed to have their attorneys draft the agreement in private (where they're not subject to public disclosure laws as a private actor) and then hand it over to the board to review and vote. I specifically hinted at a "rubber stamp", which would still be legal as long as it's done in open meetings. I'm guessing there were no objections during those meetings. Federal and state legislation has often been created by private actors and then introduced by legislators. This is nothing new with government entities.

 

[Dcgc28]

I had a look at that and noticed one respondent to the tweet thinks that the lack of any paper/text/email trail is problematic.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1647046826757947392

But that in and of itself isn't a legal problem. The former RCID and Disney say that everything was done in accordance with Florida's open meetings and sunshine laws. The new board has access to all of the old board's emails and texts and couldn't find anything responsive to the Florida AG's request. It doesn't mean that Disney wasn't allowed to have their attorneys draft the agreement in private (where they're not subject to public disclosure laws as a private actor) and then hand it over to the board to review and vote. I specifically hinted at a "rubber stamp", which would still be legal as long as it's done in open meetings. I'm guessing there were no objections during those meetings. Federal and state legislation has often been created by private actors and then introduced by legislators. This is nothing new with government entities.

Is that person correct that there was no paper work on the resolution? I thought they were specifically looking for things that would attempt to undermine Florida or the new board and that's what wasn't found in the documents.

 

[bcla]

Is that person correct that there was no paper work on the resolution? I thought they were specifically looking for things that would attempt to undermine Florida or the new board and that's what wasn't found in the documents.

I think what they were looking for was anything that would show that Disney was discussing a new agreement that might tend to undermine a replacement board with then board members outside of public meetings. If the board drafted an agreement, they would be required to disclose the paper trail.

I don't know what that would require though. I'm thinking maybe they gave a heads up that they would be requesting that they review an agreement in open meetings just to set up an agenda, but then they have no idea what's in it until there's a public meeting.

 

[SuzErwin]

I think what they were looking for was anything that would show that Disney was discussing a new agreement that might tend to undermine a replacement board with then board members outside of public meetings. If the board drafted an agreement, they would be required to disclose the paper trail.

I don't know what that would require though. I'm thinking maybe they gave a heads up that they would be requesting that they review an agreement in open meetings just to set up an agenda, but then they have no idea what's in it until there's a public meeting.

There were looking for evidence that Disney violated the Sunshine Law, which forbids two or more members of an elected board discussing board business in a venue that isn't public. The AG added language about Disney "circumventing the will of the governor and legislature" but since the Reedy Creek board passed the new agreements two days before the legislature passed the bill creating the new board, that appears to be rhetorical fluff.

I'll also note that since Twitter changed its rules, anyone can pay for a blue verified check mark; the person responding to Scott Gustin by leaping to conclusions about Florida/US governance law is from Montreal, doesn't appear to be a lawyer and has only 147 followers, so take their opinion as you will.