Suit Challenges Disney on Tax-Free Bond Issue

Republican gubernatorial candidate Anthony Martin has filed suit against Walt Disney World Co., claiming that it has no right to issue all the tax-exempt bonds available in six counties.

Disney won $57 million worth of the tax-free bonds, all that are available this year in six counties in the Orlando area, and plans to use the money to upgrade its sewage treatment plant.

Orange County had applied for the bonds to help low- and moderate-income families buy housing, but the bonds are issued by the state’s Division of Bond Finances on a first-come, first-served basis, and Disney filed first.

Martin said Disney’s governmental arm, Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was awarded the bonds earlier in the month, should be declared ineligible. The suit cites a section of the Florida Constitution that prohibits a “special district” from using its governmental power to aid a private corporation.