State officials will not take over Space Mountain or other Disney World ride inspections soon, despite Gov. Ron DeSantis saying it would happen.
State lawmakers in the session that ended May 5 did not consider a bill for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to assume responsibility for Disney World’s ride inspections after
DeSantis proposed doing that in mid-April amid his feud with the company over Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” law.
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson appeared to support the idea at the time, but a spokesman for his office said this week that was not the case.
Brian Avery, an independent ride safety consultant, said Disney’s
lawsuit against the governor and state filed the following week alleging political retaliation was a likely cause.
Speaking after DeSantis, Simpson said, “I stand here today in support of this legislation that will allow my department to conduct inspections when someone is seriously injured on an amusement ride. … We do that across the board for amusement rides everywhere, except large theme parks. Where a person is injured should not determine how the state responds.”
But Simpson’s office this week said his comments were not in support of DeSantis’ proposal to revoke Disney’s inspection exemption, but
for a withdrawn amendment that would have allowed the department to inspect major theme parks’ rides after a complaint or reported accident.
Records show the amendment was filed April 14 and withdrawn prior to consideration on April 15, two days before the press conference.
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