Florida Chief Financial Officer

	Florida Chief Financial Officer
	; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2013-2014 FY Budget:	$12,096,411
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 4
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	; ;
Name:	Jeffrey Atwater
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	January 4, 2011
Compensation:	$128,972
	Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
	Other Florida Executive Offices
	Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Secretary of State•Attorney General•Chief Financial Officer•Commissioner of Education•Agriculture Commissioner•Insurance Commissioner•Environmental Protection Secretary•Economic Opportunity Director•Public Service Commission

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The chief financial officer oversees the Florida Department of Financial Services, a conglomeration of state agencies including the Departments of Insurance, Treasury, State Fire Marshal and Banking & Finance. The Department of Financial Services, like the office of chief financial officer, was created by constitutional referendum in 1998 and officially became active on January 1, 2003.

The CFO's responsibilities generally overlap with those of a state treasurer or controller: he provides accounting, auditing, and payroll services to the state, manages the state's finances and oversees receipt and disbursement of monies. ^[1]

Current officeholder

The current CFO is Jeff Atwater, a Republican, who was first elected on November 2, 2010 and took office on January 4, 2011.^[2] He will come up for re-election, if he chooses to run, in November 2014.

Atwater was a member of the Florida Senate from 2002 to 2010 and President from 2008 to 2010. He was a state representative from 2000 to 2002. Before his election to state office, Atwater was vice mayor of North Palm Beach, FL from 1993 to 2000. Additionally, he has more than 25 years of experience in community banking.^[3]

Authority

The office of chief financial officer is established in Article IV of the state constitution.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 4

(c) The chief financial officer shall serve as the chief fiscal officer of the state, and shall settle and approve accounts against the state, and shall keep all state funds and securities.

Qualifications

Like all members of the Florida cabinet, the chief financial officer must be at least 30 years old and have resided in the state for seven years prior to his election.

Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 5

(b) When elected, the governor, lieutenant governor and each cabinet member must be an elector not less than thirty years of age who has resided in the state for the preceding seven years. The attorney general must have been a member of the bar of Florida for the preceding five years. No person who has, or but for resignation would have, served as governor or acting governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected governor for the succeeding term.

Elections

The chief financial officer is elected to four year terms in federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014). He assumes office on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following his election.

Term limits

There are no term limits associated with the office of chief financial officer.

Vacancies

The Governor of Florida fills a vacancy in any "state, district, or county office" by appointing a replacement to serve out the remainder of the term.^[4] If there is more than 28 months left remaining in the term when the vacancy occurs, the replacement appointee serves until the first Tuesday after the first Monday following the next general election.

Duties

The chief financial officer oversees the Florida Department of Financial Services. The department provides accounting and auditing services to state agencies, acts as the state's bank by disbursing and receiving funds into the treasury, and performs other financial duties. In addition, the department performs non-financial regulatory duties, including insurance licensing and fraud investigation, funeral parlor and cemetery licensing and public assistance fraud investigation. Notably, the chief financial officer also acts as state fire marshal, which certifies firefighters, sets training standards and investigations potential arson.

Divisions

Service Divisions:

Accounting and Auditing
- Accounting
- Auditing
- Local Government
- State Payrolls
Consumer Services
- Consumer Assistance
- Education, Advocacy and Research
- Consumer Outreach
Funeral and Cemetary Services
Insurance Agent and Agency Services
- Licensing
- Investigation
Insurance Fraud
- Workers Compensation Fraud
- Crime Intelligence and Analytical Support
- Professional Standards and Planning
- Regional Offices
Public Assistance Fraud
Rehabilitation and Liquidation
Risk Management
- Loss Prevention
- Claims Administration
Treasury
- Deferred Compensation
- Collateral Management
- Funds Management
State Fire Marshal
- Fire and Arson Investigations
- Forensic Fire and Explosives Analysis
- Fire Prevention
- Fire Standards and Training
Workers' Compensation
- Compliance
- Employee Assistance and Ombudsman
- Monitoring and Audit
- Operations Support
- Data Quality and Collection
- Medical Services
- Assessments
- Special Disability Trust Fund

State budget

The budget for the Office of Chief Financial Officer in Fiscal Year 2013-2014 was $12,096,411.^[5]

Compensation

In 2010, the chief financial officer received compensation in the amount of $128,972. The CFO's compensation is set by law.

Recent news

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