Florida’s state legislature passed the bill yesterday and Gov. DeSantis signed it today.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill into law that gives a new board he controls the power to void development agreements its predecessor body signed with Disney – the latest episode in a feud between the conservative governor and the entertainment giant.

Under the bill, which passed the Republican-controlled legislature largely along party lines, the Central Tourism Oversight District Board – whose members are appointed by DeSantis – can cancel any deals signed up to three months before the board’s creation.

“Make no mistake about it, the reason why the legislature had to act was not because of anything we did,” DeSantis said at a news conference Friday. “It was basically born out of Disney’s arrogance that they would be able to subcontract around the duly enacted laws of the state of Florida. That’s wrong.”

So in theory the new Tourism Oversight board should be able to tear up those last minute agreements Disney essentially made with itself. In fact, the board had already voted to do that even before DeSantis signed this new law. And those moves led to a lawsuit from Disney which was filed last week. Then on Monday of this week, the Tourism Oversight board sued Disney.

The DeSantis board’s lawsuit was filed Monday afternoon in Orange County and claims the agreements with Disney “reek of a backroom deal.” The previous board members failed to give proper notice about the agreements, lacked the authority to make them, unlawfully delegated governmental authority to a private entity and the agreements are unenforceable under Florida law, according to the suit.

“We will seek justice in our own backyard,” Martin Garcia, chair of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said at Monday morning’s special meeting approving the lawsuit…

The creation of the self-governing district by the Florida Legislature was instrumental in Disney’s decision in the 1960s to build near Orlando. The company had told the state at the time that it planned to build a futuristic city that would include a transit system and urban planning innovations, so the company needed autonomy in building and deciding how to use the land. The futuristic city never materialized and instead morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982.

So with two different courts, one in Tallahassee and another in Orlando, already being asked to make a decision on this, the NY Times suggests nothing is going to happen in the short term.

At least for now, the new law is a relatively minor development in the ongoing conflict between Mr. DeSantis and Disney over the potential expansion of the company’s 25,000-acre theme park resort near Orlando. That is because Disney and the board have already sued each other over the development agreements; the matter is essentially on hold, awaiting to be addressed by the judicial system…

The Florida Legislature passed the bill on Thursday. It did not originally involve Disney. As introduced in early March, the bill’s purpose was to update requirements for comprehensive land use planning by municipalities. At the urging of Mr. DeSantis, the part applicable to Disney was added last month. Democrats opposed the amendment, saying that it set a dangerous precedent for state interference with individual company contracts.

Both Disney and Florida have the resources to drag this out for quite a while if they wish so there’s no telling when a decision will be reached. I suppose it’s possible a court could look at the conflict in light of the new law DeSantis just signed and decide the whole issue of the previous board’s agreements is moot. Then again it’s also possible Disney could sue again (or amend its lawsuit) to include the new law. The only outcome that seems truly unlikely is that either side backs down.