CENTRAL FLORIDA TOURISM OVERSIGHT DISTRICT ENGAGES ESTEEMED LAW PROFESSOR DONALD J. KOCHAN
Kochan will assess the history, legality, and practices of the District and advise on democratic governance, constitutional limitations, and land use law going forward
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL (August 23, 2023) – The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) has engaged renowned law professor Donald J. Kochan to undertake a detailed legal and economic study of the practices of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District and similar governance regimes with privileges granted to specific corporate entities. His report will analyze Florida, federal, and constitutional law, and make recommendations on the use of legislative and municipal authority to ensure that special interests do not benefit at the expense of the public in the future.
An eminent constitutional scholar who also specializes in property and administrative law, Professor Kochan is the Executive Director of the Law & Economics Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He has earned a multitude of legal awards and citations and published numerous books and articles on land use, regulation, property rights, environmental law, and related subjects.
“We could not be advised by a better or more qualified expert than Professor Kochan,” announced Martin Garcia, Chairman of the CFTOD Board. “And the work is critical. For over 56 years, Disney had their own governmentally controlled kingdom which, while sparking economic growth for central Florida, also produced many negative outcomes for the taxpayers, employees, and citizens of Orange and Osceola Counties.”
Garcia explained, “In the past six months, our Board has adopted new policies and practices to fix some of the glaring issues. To discover and solve more latent problems, the Board is turning to Professor Kochan to elucidate some of the economic and legal implications the old structure created and provide recommendations to further reform the District to make it more responsive to the citizens of central Florida.”