UPDATE 5/3/23: The Florida House passed the bill through the Senate with an 83-32 vote and it’s now waiting for Governor Ron DeSantis to sign off on it. There has been no mention of the bill by DeSantis in recent news conferences, however, the likelihood of him signing off on this measure is strong.
The pointed way that the amendment was written will only affect the Walt Disney World monorail as it’s the only “fixed-guideway transportation system” that operates “within an independent special district” and has “boundaries within two contiguous counties.”
The Florida Senate has voted 26-14 in favor of SB-1250, which includes an amendment that moves Walt Disney World’s monorail inspections to the state’s Department of Transportation.
The amendment was essentially buried in the bill sponsored by Senator Nick DiCeglie that was moved to the Senate last month and appears to be targeting Walt Disney World’s monorail specifically with the verbiage used.
According to an article on Florida Politics, there was a “heated debate” prior to today’s vote.
Do we want Disney to shut down? Do we want Disney to leave our state? Do you want Disney to come on bended knee and say to the Governor, ‘I’m so sorry, I was wrong and drop the lawsuit?
When does it end? Because there’s nothing wrong with the monorail system and you know it, and yet we’re going after it.
Senator Tina Scott Polsky
DiCeglie argued that the “proposed legislation is important safety since 150,000 people ride the monorails every day and Disney currently handles its own inspections.” He also said the “lack of standard operating procedures [lead] to an unsafe practice when reversing trains on its monorail system. This Legislature around 2010 should have been having this conversation and this debate like you and I and our colleagues in this chamber are having right now.” However, the safety record has been strong since an incident in 2009 tragically killed a Disney cast member.
If there’s a problem, address the problem quickly. Don’t wait 14 years. The timing of this is problematic, and it reeks of retribution. I will not be supporting the bill today.
Senator Geraldine Thompson
The bill will be sent back to the House for its vote.
