Good morning and welcome to Tuesday.
Walt Disney World's old self-governing powers are facing a new onslaught of criticism. An 80-page report accuses the theme park of showering employees from the former governing body — known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District — with “perks that were akin to bribes” that included annual passes as well as discounts on merchandise and cruises. Such goodies, the report concludes, set up a too-cozy relationship that tipped policies in favor of the theme park's interests over other restaurants, hotels and shops in the area. It caused district workers to "start to see themselves as agents of Disney, as opposed to agents of good governance," said one of the reports' authors, Donald Kochan, executive director of the Law and Economics Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. The report came at the direction of the GOP-supermajority Legislature. By law, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, made up of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees, had to hire a panel of experts to study the decades-long arrangement Disney used to enjoy. It's yet another fallout for Disney after the company spoke out against a DeSantis-backed Florida law limiting classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation, known by opponents as "Don't Say Gay." Much of the report criticizes celebrations the district once held, including "extravagant holiday parties" frequently held on Disney property. A person close to the former board, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, defended the perks, saying they fostered a positive workplace. (Note: It's also not uncommon for theme parks to pick up the tab for hotels, meals and tickets as an in-kind donation to political committees — thought in this case the district paid for the Disney perks starting more than 15 years ago.) Disney originally received its special tax district decades ago partly because it promised the Legislature it would build a city but then never did. The company still pushed to keep its arrangement to "maximize its profits," per the report, though it would have been "tremendously profitable" either way. "What shocked me most is how effective Disney has been from the every start in creating the narrative that this level of extraordinary authority was necessary for Disney to come to Florida and sustain itself in Florida," said Kochan, who will be presenting the group's findings remotely during a public meeting tomorrow. Disney and the current board are still locked in legal battles that could take years, and the pressure's on for the entertainment giant because nearby rival theme park Universal Studios is undergoing an expansion. Disney has been pushing its own study showing that it contributes tens of billions of dollars to Florida's economy. Executives continue to dangle the prospect of spending $60 billion on its parks business over the next decade, money they’ve made clear will go only to welcoming and stable locations around the globe. At least one Democrat, state Sen. Linda Stewart, wants the old district back. Disney panned the report as an “exercise in revisionist history” that was “neither objective nor credible.” It accused board members of using the report to try to support their side during their “wasteful litigation.” “It does not change the fact that the CFTOD board was appointed by the governor to punish Disney for exercising its Constitutional right to free speech,” the company said in a statement. — WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis will outline his budget recommendations at a press conference in Marco Island, Florida, at 9 a.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | 
