Disney Gets Offer to Leave Florida

Former South Carolina Governor and GOP presidential nominee Nikki Haley said that Disney can move to South Carolina if they want to leave Florida.

The Disney-DeSantis saga has broiled for a while and Haley used a segment on Fox News to appeal to the corporation.

“Hey Disney, my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida,” Haley wrote on Twitter.

“We’ve got great weather, great people, and it’s always a great day in South Carolina!”

“SC’s not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either,” she added.

Disney has sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for an alleged political effort to hurt their business.

From NPR:

The Walt Disney Company has filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials. Disney accuses DeSantis with orchestrating a “campaign of government retaliation” against the company and violating its protected speech.

It’s the latest action in a feud that began more than a year ago when Disney’s former CEO said he’d work to overturn a law banning discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the schools. The law, the “Parental Rights in Education Act,” is called “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

At DeSantis’ urging, Republican lawmakers passed a bill that stripped Disney of its self-governing authority. But before the law took effect, Disney signed a deal with its outgoing board allowing it to retain development rights on the 40-square mile district. It also included covenants that give Disney final say on any alterations to the property.

At a meeting Wednesday near Orlando, DeSantis’ handpicked board voted to invalidate that agreement. Moments later, Disney filed a 77-page lawsuit in federal court, charging DeSantis and other officials with violations of the contracts clause, the takings clause, due process and its First Amendment right to protected speech. In its lawsuit, Disney says, “This government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional.” The company is asking a federal judge to declare the board’s action “unlawful and unenforceable.”

“If Disney would like to move their hundreds of thousands of jobs to South Carolina and bring the billions of dollars with them, I’ll let them know I’d be happy to meet them in South Carolina,” Haley said.

WATCH:

Hey @Disney, my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida.

We’ve got great weather, great people, and it’s always a great day in South Carolina!

SC’s not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either. pic.twitter.com/uf1PWQjGc5

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 26, 2023

The Hill reported:

DeSantis has since sought to wrestle away Disney’s self-governing status in the district surrounding its Florida park, as part of his campaign against all things “woke.” The very public feud with Disney comes as the governor is widely expected to launch a 2024 presidential bid.

While Haley made sure to note that South Carolina is also “very anti-woke,” she also touted her economic record as she encouraged Disney to relocate.

“You know, as governor, I took a double-digit unemployment state and I turned it into to an economic powerhouse,” Haley told Fox News on Wednesday. “Businesses were my partners. Because if you take care of your businesses, you take care of your economy, your economy takes care of the people, and everyone wins.”

Disney also received an offer to move to North Carolina.

North Carolina State Senator Michael Garrett introduced the “Mickey’s Freedom Restoration Act.”

The legislation aims to attract theme park businesses to the Tar Heel State.

North Carolina State Sen. Michael Garrett has introduced a bill called "Mickey's Freedom Restoration Act," which is aimed at attracting theme park businesses to North Carolina, including Disney. pic.twitter.com/cFSs11Xgol

— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) April 19, 2023

WDW News Today reported:

Spectrum News 13’s Ashley Carter shared the contents of the bill, which states:

Whereas, some state governments have recently begun to prioritize “culture war” politics over economic development; and Whereas, North Carolina has proven to be a stable and vibrant environment for businesses, both large and small, to flourish; and Whereas, the state government of North Carolina and its elected leaders from both political parties have prioritized economic development for the benefit of its citizens; and Whereas, North Carolina seeks to further strengthen its tourism and entertainment industries by welcoming businesses considering relocation; and Whereas, Bob Iger, the chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company, called actions taken by the state government of Florida “anti-business,” on April 3, 2023[.]

The bill establishes the 11-member North Carolina Family Amusement Park Study Commission, with the purpose “to develop strategies that encourage family amusement parks (family parks) to locate in tier one counties” by the following strategies:

1. Studying and consulting major family parks outside of the State to determine (i) the amount of interest among family parks to expand into the State, (ii) the priorities of family parks when considering an expansion into a new state, and (iii) any other information relevant to developing a plan that recruits family parks and encourages them to expand into the State.
2. Coordinating with relevant State and local governments and agencies, including the Department of Commerce, the Department of Transportation, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, to develop strategic economic incentive plans designed to encourage family parks to expand or relocate into the State.

The bill introduced earlier today makes reference to the ongoing tension between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World, calling out the state’s recent attempts to stifle Disney and, in turn, prioritizing “culture war politics over economic development.”

The language in the bill references Disney CEO Bob Iger’s statement regarding the ongoing moves against the company as “anti-business” and declares that North Carolina prioritizes economic development for the benefit of its citizens and openly welcomes Disney’s relocation to the Tar Heel State.