The Executive Branch - Florida House of Representatives

The Executive Branch

11 An Introduction 19 Office of the Governor 34 Governor Rick Scott 37 Lieutenant Governor 40 Attorney General 42 Department of Legal Affairs 44 Chief Financial Officer 45 Department of Financial Services 52 Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services 54 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 56 Past Governors of Florida 92 Inaugurations 99 The Governor's Mansion 106 Subsequent Political Careers of Governors 109 Cabinet Milestones 111 Former Cabinet Offices 115 Protocol 119 Major State Agencies

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The Executive Branch: An Introduction

Photo by Eric Tournay

The Governor and Cabinet left to right: Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam, Governor Richard L. Scott, and Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Atwater.

"The powers of the state government shall be divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. No person belonging to one branch shall exercise any powers appertaining to either of the other branches unless expressly provided herein."

Florida Constitution, Article II, Section 3

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Article IV, Section 1 of the State Consti-

tution vests the "supreme executive power"

in the Governor. But the Governor shares his

executive responsibility with other officers,

elective and appointive.

Of these, first are the members of what

the Constitution designates as the "Cabinet."

The Cabinet formerly consisted of six

officers elected statewide for terms of four

years with the possibility of re-election for

one successive term. The Cabinet officers

were, in the order listed in the 1968 Consti-

tution: the Secretary of State, the Attorney

General, the Comptroller, the Treasurer, the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Commissioner of Education.

In 1998 the Constitutional Revision Commission proposed, and the voters ap-

Florida State Archives

Governor Bob Graham and his six-person Cabinet: Doyle Conner (Commissioner of Agriculture), Jim Smith (Attorney General), Ralph Turlington (Commissioner of Education), Governor Graham, Gerald Lewis (Comptroller) George Firestone (Secretary of State), and Bill Gunter (Treasurer).

proved, an amendment that reduced the Cabi-

Collegial Form

net to three members: an Attorney General, a Chief

Financial Officer (combining the offices of Treasurer

This collegial form of state government, in

and Comptroller) and a Commissioner of Agricul- which the Governor shares responsibility with the

ture. This restructured Cabinet took effect on January Cabinet for administration through boards, is be-

7, 2003, following the general election in November lieved to be unique to Florida.

2002. The Commissioner of Education is now cho-

In the State's institutional programs prior to the

sen by a Governor appointed State Board of Educa- 1950s, each institution was responsible directly to

tion. The office of Secretary of State is appointed by the Governor, Cabinet, and Legislature. Needs of an

the Governor.

institution often were met in proportion to the influ-

Each of the Cabinet officers heads a department ence of its legislators. But since then they have been

of the state government. Additionally, each serves consolidated and administered as groups meeting

with the Governor on a number of boards which ad- broad needs in areas such as corrections, education,

minister other departments. On most of these boards, and mental health. This trend was required to meet

a Cabinet officer's vote is equal to that of the Gov- rapidly growing needs and efficiency of administra-

ernor.

tion.

The Cabinet members are given the indepen-

Once, in the 1930s, the Governor and Cabinet

dent responsibility to manage the offices entrusted to spent an hour or more arguing over whether to au-

them as divisions of the state's executive functions, thorize the purchase of a mule for the farm at the

and the Legislature can give additional responsibility State mental hospital. An incident of that nature no

as well.

longer occurs because the growth of the State and its

This means that the Governor may not always institutions requires most decisions to be made by

administer these jointly shared laws as he would like administrators subject to department approval.

to do. Sometimes in Florida this spreading of respon-

sibility has led to friction, and several Governors un-

Changing Management

successfully advocated the abolition of the Cabinet.

But since 1885 Florida's Constitutions have reflected

Four factors have changed the management of

the people's fear that one person could exercise too Florida's government since the days of the mule pur-

much authority.

chase.

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ernment, the old chain of command no longer exists. Said Governor Collins:

In earlier years, rank-and-file State employees looked to their department and agency heads for leadership and direction, and these heads had a continuing direct relationship with the Governor in developing policy and in its execution.

The Governor himself could initiate programs and actions, and those helping him could coalesce into a clear-cut chain of responsibility. Now all governments are so much larger and more complex, with employees organized as they are that the earlier pattern is distorted. Decision-making seems to be greatly diffused, at times incoherent, and obfuscated.1

Florida State Archives

Governor LeRoy Collins surrounded by his family at the Governor's Mansion, Tallahassee, 1960.

First, the phenomenal growth of the State means the Governor and Cabinet cannot concern themselves as closely with the day-to-day management.

Second, the burgeoning of the government means the Governor is involved with an increasing number of citizen groups all over the state, forcing him to delegate responsibilities to subordinates.

Third, the Legislature, through its oversight and standing committees, devotes more attention to the execution of its laws.

Fourth, while the career service and employees' unions mean the quadrennial "suitcase parade" no longer occurs with the changes of elective officers, these protections also give some independence of employees from supervisors and management policies of the Governor and Cabinet.

Old Chain of Command No Longer Exists

In the opinion of Governor LeRoy Collins, whose residence in Tallahassee and public service, including two terms as chief executive that gave him the opportunity to observe Florida's changing gov-

People generally associate the Executive Branch with the Governor and Cabinet, however, there are advisory bodies, as disparate as the Committee on Lay Midwifery to the Barrio Latino Commission, all with a piece of government in their hands.2

The Governor makes appointments to approximately 850 boards. The boards include professional and occupational boards that have statewide responsibilities, but the Governor also must concern himself with the local and regional appointment of hospital boards, housing authorities, judicial nominating committees, fire control districts, and boards of trustees for community colleges.3

Also, he shares the sovereignty of the State through his power of appointment of special officers to boards, commissions, water management districts, and other agencies and organizations, to which the Governor makes nearly 6,000 appointments over each four-year term.

Measuring the Governor's dominion another way, in 2010 there were more than 900 state employees paid more than Governor Crist.4 (Governor Scott takes only a penny in salary.) A Governor must derive reward from the chance to leave the State a better place than when he took office.

Stated another way, the diffusion of responsibility means that perhaps the chief contribution to life in Florida by its Governors is the values and standards they reflect, and their moral suasion. The people have shown, by their votes and otherwise, that they appreciate a Governor with whom they may not

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always agree but nevertheless believe he is doing what he thinks is right. They are usually willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Legislative Independence

While it is commonly said that State government is made up of three independent branches--the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial--the separation between the Governor and the Legislature is not as sharp as that statement of independence might convey. Actually, it is a limited partnership.

Because newsmen, by way of headline shorthand, often speak of the Cabinet having taken some action, there has been a tendency to regard the Governor as being among the members of the Cabinet. He is not, except that he serves as chairman of the various boards on which he sits with members of the Cabinet.

"Would you like to address me too?" interrupted Governor Askew.

"I was including you in the Cabinet, Governor," replied the Attorney General.

"But I'm not a member of the Cabinet," said Askew.5

Since the Governor shares so much of the traditional executive responsibility with members of an independent Cabinet, it is not surprising that political scientists regard Florida's system of government as different than virtually all other states.

Despite the revision of the Constitution in 1968, the Executive Reorganization Act in 1969 that increased the responsibility of the Governor, and the 1998 amendment to the Constitution that reduced the Cabinet to three members, the State's Executive branch retains its designation as a Cabinet government.

A longtime observer, Dr. Daisy Parker Flory, professor of government at Florida State University, found that the vital characteristics of the Cabinet system endure:

Cabinet meeting, 1978.

Florida State Archives

Not Governor's Cabinet

Nor is it the Governor's Cabinet. This must be stressed because so many Floridians have come here from other states where the Governor, as does the President of the United States, has a group of personal appointees to advise him and this group often is known as the Cabinet.

As late as six months into his administration, Governor Reubin O'D. Askew (1971?1979) was still coping with the problem of his fellow officers and the public identifying the Governor with the Cabinet:

"I'd like to address the Cabinet on this," began Attorney General Robert L. Shevin at a meeting.

Cabinet officers are directly elected and thus directly responsible to the people. Each Cabinet official heads an important administrative division. Each Cabinet official also participates with the Governor in administering certain major departments ...

The 1968 Revision of the Constitution not only gives the Cabinet constitutional recognition and designation but it also directs the Legislature to place each of the executive departments of state government, unless specifically provided for otherwise in the charter, under the direct supervision of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Governor and Cabinet, a Cabinet member, or an officer or board appointed by the Governor.

The Constitution further provides that the Legislature may require confirmation by the Senate or the approval of the Cabinet for appointment to or removal from any designated statutory office. The Cabinet is constitutionally accorded a role in the determination of the incapacity of the Governor: Cabinet officers may send to the Supreme Court "a written suggestion" that the Governor is incapable to serve, the Supreme Court making the determination. Restoration of capacity, in such

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