The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida

Government of Florida

The government of Florida is a constitutional republic with three branches of government, including the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the legislative branch, the Florida Legislature, consisting of the Senate and...

 that engages in the collective governance of the state.

Created following Reconstruction, when there had been a widespread distrust of the governors appointed by the federal government, the cabinet was designed to decentralize authority from the Governor.

History

Until January 7, 2003, Florida was unique among states in that its cabinet consisted of six independently and constitutionally elected members who each held an equal vote with the state Governor in executive decisions. The original Cabinet positions were:

• Attorney General
  Florida Attorney General
  The Florida Attorney General is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state....
  
  
• Commissioner of Agriculture
  Florida Commissioner of Agriculture
  The Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the head of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services . The position is elected by voters statewide and is one of four members in the Florida Cabinet...
  
  
• Commissioner of Education
• Comptroller
  Florida Comptroller
  The Florida Comptroller was the state comptroller of Florida from 1845 to 2003...
  
  
• Secretary of State
  Secretary of State of Florida
  The Secretary of State of Florida is a constitutional officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established by the original 1838 state constitution....
  
  
• Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal
  Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal
  The Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal is a former statewide constitutional officer of Florida...
  
  

In 1998, Florida voters voted to amend the Florida Constitution

Florida Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....

 to shrink the Cabinet from these six members to its current three members. This amendment took effect in 2003, following the 2002 election.

Under the reforms adopted, the Secretary of State and Education Commissioner became appointed officials under the Governor who would oversee their respective agencies, while the positions of the Comptroller and the Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal were combined into the position of the Chief Financial Officer of Florida

Chief Financial Officer of Florida

The Chief Financial Officer of Florida is a statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet....

.

The Cabinet lost its control over the Florida Department of Education; management of K-12 education and community college education which was shifted to the new Florida Board of Education

Florida Board of Education

The Florida Board of Education also known as the State Board of Education is a committee composed of members appointed by the Florida Governor to guide and direct public K-12 & Community College education in Florida.- History :...

 and management of the State University System of Florida

State University System of Florida

The State University System of Florida is a system of eleven public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2011, over 320,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities...

 to the new Florida Board of Governors

Florida Board of Governors

The Florida Board of Governors was created in 2002 by the passage of a constitutional amendment, which went into effect in 2003. By an unprecedented vote, a 17-member board was established to serve as the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all...

. Some environmental policy powers of the Cabinet were shifted to other officials as well. The reforms were seen as ways to strengthen the power of the Governor.

Composition

The meetings of the Governor and Cabinet are chaired by the Governor, currently Rick Scott, and consists of three cabinet members:

• Chief Financial Officer
  Chief Financial Officer of Florida
  The Chief Financial Officer of Florida is a statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet....
  
  , currently Jeff Atwater
• Attorney General, currently Pam Bondi
  Pam Bondi
  Pamela Jo Bondi is the current Attorney General of Florida.-Early life and education:Bondi's hometown is Temple Terrace, Florida. Her father, Joseph Bondi, was a City Councilman and then Mayor of Temple Terrace. She is a graduate of C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida...
  
  
• Commissioner of Agriculture, currently Adam Putnam
  Adam Putnam
  Adam H. Putnam is the current Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2001 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  ,

Each member is popularly elected by the state and carries one vote in executive decisions. In the case of a tie, the vote cast by the Governor decides the outcome.

Agencies

The Governor and Cabinet serves as the board of directors of several state agencies and during their bi-weekly meetings discuss agency business and make policy decisions for the agencies. The Governor and Cabinet, all statewide officials, also oversee the separate offices and agencies under their departments. The Governor and Cabinet oversees the following agencies:

• State Board of Executive Clemency
• State Board of Administration (excluding the Commissioner of Agriculture)
• Division of Bond Finance
• Department of Veterans' Affairs
  Florida Department of Veterans Affairs
  The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs is a government agency of the state of Florida under the authority of the Governor of Florida charged with helping veterans and their families to receive all benefits they are legally entitled to....
  
  
• Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• Department of Law Enforcement
  Florida Department of Law Enforcement
  The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a Florida government agency. FDLE is composed of five programs: Executive Direction and Business Support, Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Information, Criminal Justice Professionalism, and the Florida Capitol Police...
  
  
• Department of Revenue
• Administration Commission
• Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission
• Electrical Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Board
• The Board of Trustees Internal Improvement Trust Fund
• Financial Services Commission

Aides

The Governor and each member of the Cabinet has an office dedicated to Cabinet affairs. These issues are headed by a chief cabinet aide, who is assisted by other aides. The week prior to a Cabinet meeting, the Cabinet aides meet to discuss the agenda and conduct preliminary discussion for a variety of issues coming before the full Cabinet. Cabinet aides meetings are considered an important part of the Cabinet process.

Civil service

The state of Florida employs about 227,479 workers to execute the will of the legislature under the direction of the governor and cabinet officials.

Benefits

27,479 state employees receive free medical insurance premiums including members of the legislature . Another 200,000 state workers and university employees paid $600 annually for medical insurance for individuals, $2,160 annually for families. Average contributions nationwide were $779 annually per individual, $3,515 annually for families.