Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on Monday to Florida’s chief inspector general asking her to investigate what the governor’s office has described as “potential civil and criminal violations” following news of the previous Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) board sneaking through a 30-year development agreement prior to the DeSantis-appointed board coming to power.

The Florida legislature successfully passed legislation to end Disney’s self-governing status, but the former Disney board voted for a new development agreement February 8, 2023, prior to the DeSantis-approved board taking over. According to the AP, the development agreement passed by the previous board gives Disney “maximum developmental power,” which essentially makes the current board obsolete in many ways.

The current board includes Tampa attorney Martin Garcia as chairman, Seminole County attorney Michael Sasso, Clearwater attorney Brian Aungst, The Gathering USA CEO Ron Peri, and Sarasota County School Board chairwoman Bridget Ziegler.

As Breitbart News reported:

“We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” Aungst, a member of the board, said. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the agreement “allows Disney to build projects at the highest density and the right to sell or assign those development rights to other district landowners without the board having any say, according to the presentation by the district’s new special legal counsel.”

Similarly, Ziegler said on social media that the new board “won’t back down” against this “last minute sweetheart development agreement.”

While Disney has denied wrongdoing, DeSantis spokeswoman Taryn Fenske said an initial review of the board “suggests these agreements may have significant legal infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law.” And on Monday, DeSantis capitalized on that, ordering Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel to investigate.

In the letter to Miguel, DeSantis notes that the newly established board discovered that “immediately before the enactment of House Bill 9-B, the RCID Board of Supervisors attempted to enter into a last-minute development and restrictive covenant agreements with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S.. Inc. (Walt Disney World), designed to usurp the authority” of the new board.

“These collusive and self-dealing arrangements aim to nullify the recently passed legislation, undercut Florida’s legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians,” DeSantis wrote, adding that initial observations of counsel indicate that the previous board’s actions “appear to suffer from serious legal infirmities, including among other things, inadequate notice, lack of consideration, improper deletion of authority, and ethical violations, such as conflicts of interest and self-dealing.”

Because of that, DeSantis is formally requesting a “thorough review and investigation” into the actions of the previous board. That investigation, according to the governor, should include the former board’s “adherence to applicable Florida civil and criminal laws and ethics requirements” and “any financial gain or benefit derived by Walt Disney World” as a result of the actions, plus more.

“The agreements the prior RCID board attempted to shove through at the 11th hour are likely invalid, and all legislative options are back on the table,” Jeremy Redfern, deputy press secretary for DeSantis, added.

WATCH: Ron Desantis Announces Florida Lawmakers Will Consider Terminating Special Districts, Including Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District

Video Source: Governor Ron DeSantis / Facebook

Disney Battle Heats Up: Ron DeSantis Orders Inspector General to Investigate Potential ‘Criminal Violations’

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