Government of Florida

The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three branches of government: 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 House; and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Florida and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, and ratification.

Executive branch

The executive branch of the government of Florida consists of the governor, lieutenant governor, Florida Cabinet (which includes the attorney general, commissioner of agriculture and chief financial officer), and several executive departments. Each office term is limited to two four-year terms. The governor has the power to execute Florida's laws and to call out the state militia to preserve the public peace, being commander-in-chief of the state's military forces that are not in active service of the United States. At least once every legislative session, the governor is required to deliver the "State of the State Address" to the Florida Legislature regarding the condition and operation of the state government and to suggest new legislation.

Cabinet

thumb|The [[Turlington Building in Tallahassee, headquarters of the Department of Education]]

Florida is unique among U.S. states in having a strong cabinet-style government. Members of the Florida Cabinet are independently elected, and have equal footing with the governor on issues under the Cabinet's jurisdiction. The Cabinet consists of the attorney general, the commissioner of agriculture, and the chief financial officer. Along with the governor, each member carries one vote in the decision-making process. In the event of a tie, the side of the governor is the prevailing side. Cabinet elections are held every four years, on even numbered years indivisible by four (for example, 2022 & 2026 are election years but 2024 & 2028 are not).

The Florida attorney general is the state's chief legal officer. As defined in the Florida Constitution, the attorney general appoints a statewide prosecutor who may prosecute violations of criminal law occurring in or affecting two or more judicial circuits. The attorney general is responsible for the Department of Legal Affairs. The attorney general is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs.

The Florida chief financial officer's duties include monitoring the state's finances and fiscal well-being, auditing and assuring that state programs are properly spending money and overseeing the proper management of the revenue and spending of the state. The chief financial officer is the head of the Florida Department of Financial Services (FDFS). The Florida Administrative Register (FAR) is the daily publication containing proposed rules and notices of state agencies. The regulations are codified in the Florida Administrative Code (FAC). There are also numerous decisions, opinions and rulings of state agencies.

The state had about 122,000 employees in 2010.

Legislative branch

thumb|Chamber of the Florida Senate

The Florida Constitution mandates a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a Florida Senate of 40 members and a Florida House of Representatives of 120 members. The two bodies meet in the Florida State Capitol. The Florida House of Representative members serve for two-year terms, while Florida Senate members serve staggered four-year terms, with 20 senators up for election every two years. Members of both houses are term limited to serve a maximum of eight years. There are also state auditors led by the Florida auditor general who is appointed by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, the utility-regulating Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC), by joint proclamation of the speaker of the House and senate president or by three-fifths vote of the members of both houses. Outside of these regular and special sessions, the members of both houses participate in county delegation meetings and interim committee meetings throughout the year, mostly from November to February in advance of the regular session.

Its session laws are compiled into the Laws of Florida, and the Florida Statutes are the codified statutory laws of the state which have general applicability. The circuit courts primarily handle civil cases where the amount in controversy is greater than $15,000, and felony criminal cases, as well as appeals from county courts. Circuit courts also have jurisdiction over domestic relations, juvenile dependency, juvenile delinquency, and probate matters. The 67 Florida county courts have original jurisdiction over misdemeanor criminal cases, including violations of county and municipal ordinances, and in civil cases whose value in controversy does not exceed $15,000.

Budget

Each civil entity has its budget: state, county, and municipal.

State

In June 2015, the state's debt was $25.7 billion. Also in 2015, Florida lawmakers were dealing with a record high state budget and were looking at $1 billion in suggested tax cuts.

Capital city

The commissioners charged by the government of the unified Florida to select a permanent capital selected Tallahassee, then between the two major cities of Florida, Pensacola and Saint Augustine, as the state capital, in 1823. The White people expelled the Native Americans, who were opposed to leaving their land, before settling Tallahassee. The commissioners were W. H. Simmons, from St. Augustine, and John Lee Williams, from Pensacola. Richard Keith Call and a founder of Jacksonville, John Bellamy, wanted the capital in what is now Lake County but their efforts failed.

As Florida's size and population grew and spread south, the center of the state's population and the geographic center of the state changed. Using data from the 2010 U.S. census, according to the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the state's center of population was southern Polk County. The geographic center of the state is Brooksville. Because Tallahassee became increasingly far from many Floridians, there were additional proposals to move the capital to Orlando, a more centrally located city, in the late 1960s. The City of Orlando, in 1967, passed a referendum stating that it would accept becoming the capital.

Florida consists of 67 counties. Each county has officers considered "state" officers: these officials are elected locally, and their salaries and office expenses are also paid locally, but they cannot be removed from office or replaced locally, but only by the governor. The state officers subject to this requirement are the sheriff, state's attorney, public defender, tax collector, supervisor of elections, clerk of the circuit court (though styled as such, each circuit having multiple counties within its jurisdiction has a separate elected clerk within each county, and the office also handles official county records not pertaining to judicial matters), property appraiser, and judges.

There is one school district for each county; the Florida Constitution allows adjoining counties to merge their districts upon voter approval. The superintendent is by default an elected official; however, the Florida Constitution allows county voters to make the position an appointed one.

Municipalities in Florida may be called towns, cities, or villages, but there is no legal distinction between the different terms. Municipalities often have police departments, and fire departments, and provide essential services such as water, waste collection, etc. In unincorporated areas of a county, the county itself can provide some of these services. Municipalities may also enter agreements with the county to have the county provide certain services. Each county has a sheriff who also tends to have concurrent jurisdiction with municipal police departments.

References

External links

MyFlorida.com (Official website)
State of Florida recipient profile on USAspending.gov