The Florida Cabinet system has been around for a long time and has gone through some changes over the years. It was originally created to help the governor with their duties. The governor and three other officials make up the cabinet. While some things have changed, the overall function of the cabinet remains the same. The Florida Cabinet is still considered unique among all the states. In 2003, big changes were made to the Florida Constitution, making the governor more powerful and reducing the cabinet from six members to three. Before the changes, the governor and cabinet made decisions by majority vote, but now the governor has more control. The new setup gives the governor and each cabinet member more power individually. The new Florida Constitution says that if the governor and cabinet tie in a vote, the governor’s side wins. This was decided because the Constitution Revision Commission had to figure out how to make decisions with only four members. A new law was also passed to make it clear that the governor’s side winning in a tie is considered a “majority” vote. This means the governor became more powerful, but it was a practical solution for a small voting group. The Florida government had to make changes to its laws in 2003 because the governor and cabinet were having trouble making decisions under the old rules. The new governor and cabinet couldn’t do important things like sell or lease state-owned land because the laws still referred to a larger cabinet. They had to wait for the laws to catch up with the changes. Even after some changes were made, there were still issues with how many votes were needed for certain decisions. This meant that the governor, who was supposed to have more power, actually lost power in some cases. The governor and cabinet in Florida have regular meetings every two weeks, usually on Tuesdays. The meetings are noticed on the official cabinet website and in the Florida Administrative Weekly. The governor and cabinet can also have special meetings if needed. Agendas for the meetings are submitted by different groups and posted on the cabinet website for the public to see. People who need to talk to the governor and cabinet should keep an eye on the website for any changes before the meetings. The governor can add items to a meeting agenda if there’s a good reason. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor can’t do the job. The cabinet meetings are chaired by the governor, then the attorney general, then the chief financial officer, and the commissioner of agriculture. The Florida governor and the cabinet are part of several important groups that make decisions on things like finance and land use. They also have specific roles in other departments like Veterans Affairs and Law Enforcement. The governor leads these groups, and they can still make decisions even if the governor isn’t there. The State Board of Administration used to be made up of the governor, comptroller, and insurance commissioner. Now, it’s the governor, chief financial officer, and attorney general. The new constitution also mentions the Department of Law Enforcement and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund as cabinet entities. The secretary of state is now chosen by the governor, the commissioner of education is no longer independently elected, and the governor and cabinet no longer oversee the State Board of Education. The jobs of comptroller and insurance commissioner were combined into the new elected office of chief financial officer, who is in charge of the Department of Financial Services. A new office called the Financial Services Commission has been created to handle rulemaking for the Department of Financial Services. The governor and cabinet make up the commission, and they need three affirmative votes to take action. The commission oversees the offices of Insurance Regulation and Financial Regulation. The governor and cabinet appoint a commissioner for each of these offices, and they work independently from the governor and cabinet, except for rulemaking. Another agency, the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology, was also created to handle technology services for the state. The governor and cabinet serve as the agency head, and they need a three-vote majority to conduct business. The goal is to improve technology services for the state, but it is important to consider the needs of different government officials. The governor and cabinet delegate tasks and duties to their executive directors and staff. They also make appointments for executive directors and other key positions in various entities. They can revisit these delegations and make appointments at any time. Some voting requirements for the governor and cabinet have changed, making it a little more complicated. Now, instead of just needing a majority vote, they need a unanimous vote for some appointments. This means that the power is now shared equally between the governor and the three cabinet members. It’s important for lawyers to check the specific laws for each issue before the governor and cabinet. The power of the vote was shown when the governor and cabinet had to pick a new executive director of the State Board of Administration. The governor and two cabinet members voted to start a search for the new director and set a salary range, but the governor voted against it. The decision for the search and salary range passed, but the governor still has the final say in who gets the job. The governor and cabinet system has a long history in Florida and there have been attempts to change it, but so far it has stayed the same. In 1998, the voters decided to make the Florida Cabinet system more efficient. Some people think that the current system may not be the best for the people. They want to change the Florida Constitution to give the governor more power, like in other states. It’s a big political decision to figure out which way is better. The Florida Cabinet is a group of elected officials in Florida who make important decisions for the state. They have the power to appoint people to certain jobs and make rules about things like insurance and the environment. The cabinet includes the governor, the attorney general, the chief financial officer, and the commissioner of agriculture. They work together to make decisions, and the governor has a little more power than the others. They also oversee the State Board of Administration and the State Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Some people have suggested changing how the cabinet works, but no big changes have been made so far.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/the-new-constitutional-cabinet-floridas-four/
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