The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

officer of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the

Florida Cabinet The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida comprising the attorney general, the commissioner of agriculture, and the chief financial officer that engages in the collective governance of the state. History Created following Recon ...

. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

and treasurer/insurance commissioner/fire marshal. The office heads the

Florida Department of Financial Services Florida Department of Financial Services (FLDFS) is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Tallahassee. In 2002 the Florida Legislature merged the Department of Insurance, Treasury and State Fire Marshal and the Department of Banking ...

and is responsible for overseeing the state's finances, collecting revenue, paying state bills, auditing state agencies, regulating cemeteries and funerals, and handling fires and arsons. In addition, the CFO has administrative oversight over the offices which handles banking and insurance regulation. The CFO is a member of the Cabinet, and is third (behind the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of

governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...

History

Tom Gallagher C. Thomas Gallagher III (born February 3, 1944) is an American politician, financier, and insurance agent from the state of Florida and a member of the Republican Party. Gallagher holds the distinction of having served more years as an elected ...

was the first state CFO and a former treasurer/insurance commissioner/fire marshal. Gallagher retired from the position in 2006 and

Alex Sink Adelaide "Alex" Sink (born June 5, 1948) is an American former politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State ...

(D), a Florida business executive and the wife of former Florida gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride, was elected on November 7, 2006. Alex Sink launched an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010, and was succeeded by

Jeff Atwater Jeffrey Hardee Atwater (born April 8, 1958) is an American financier who served as the 3rd Chief Financial Officer of Florida from 2011 to 2017, and currently serves as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer at Flor ...

. Atwater resigned and then-governor Rick Scott appointed Jimmy Patronis to the post. Patronis won a statewide election and retained the post in 2018 and again in 2022. On November 25, 2024, Patronis announced his resignation from Chief Financial Officer of Florida effective March 31, 2025, to run for the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for the seat

Matt Gaetz Matthew Louis Gaetz II ( ; born May 7, 1982) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for from 2017 until his resignation in 2024. His district included all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, ...

held prior to his November 2024 resignation.

List of chief financial officers

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association

The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) was created by the Florida Legislature in 1970 as a nonprofit corporation to process covered claims of insolvent members by or against Florida policyholders with a limit of $300,000 per residence or non-residence commercial; $200,000 per condominium unit. Association members are all Florida-licensed direct writers of property and/or casualty insurance. FIGA's authority is codified in the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association Act,

Florida Statutes The ''Florida Statutes'' are the codified, statutory laws of Florida; it currently has 49 titles. A chapter in the Florida Statutes represents all relevant statutory laws on a particular subject. The statutes are the selected reproduction of the p ...

631.50 through 631.70. FIGA has the power to levy assessments against the insurer's direct written premiums, not to exceed 2% in any calendar year. The commissioner in the Office of Insurance Regulation retains oversight over FIGA.

Office of Insurance Regulation

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR) is responsible for all activities concerning insurers and other risk bearing entities, including licensing, rates, policy forms, market conduct, claims, issuance of certificates of authority, solvency, viatical settlements, premium financing, and administrative supervision, as provided under the Florida Insurance Code or Chapter 636, Florida Statutes. The head of the OIR is the Florida insurance commissioner, appointed by the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Michael Yaworsky is the current Florida insurance commissioner.

Financial Services Commission

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is composed of the

Florida governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Florida and is the commander-in-chief of the Florida National Guard and Florida State Gu ...

, chief financial officer,

, and commissioner of agriculture. The FSC serves as agency head for purposes of rulemaking pursuant to sections 120.536-120.565, Florida Statutes. FSC action is taken by majority vote. In case of a tie, the governor's side prevails.

References

External links

Florida Department of Financial Services
2002 establishments in Florida {{US-gov-stub