Florida Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher will run unopposed this fall in his bid for the state’s CFO position, after Attorney General Bob Butterworth, his expected opponent, decided to run instead for an open state Senate seat.
According to the Florida Insurance Council, Butterworth will run as a Democrat in the District 25 seat which has been held by Sen. Debbie Sanderson, a Republican who decided not to seek re-election. Butterworth will face state Rep. Jeff Atwater, R-Palm Beach Gardens, in the November general elections.
Under Constitution Revision 8, taking effect with this fall’s elections, Florida’s Cabinet is reduced from six to three members – the CFO, attorney general and secretary of agriculture and consumer services. The offices of treasurer/insurance commissioner and comptroller/banking commissioner are merged into CFO. The offices of education commissioner and secretary of state are abolished.
The CFO will become executive director of the new Department of Financial Services, which replaces the current Department of Insurance and the banking department. If Gallagher becomes CFO as expected, he will continue to have regulatory authority over insurance and will assume it over banking, with some exceptions. The Legislature created a Financial Services Commission headed by the governor and new Cabinet, which will have some especially politically sensitive regulatory functions over financial services, including setting insurance rates and issuing certificates of authority to insurers.
Topics Florida
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