Florida Chief Financial Officer

	Florida Chief Financial Officer
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$132,841
2024 FY Budget:	$116,855,984
Term limits:	2 terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 4
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis; Republican Party; Assumed office: 2017
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
	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 Secretary•Public Service Commission

The Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida is a state executive position in the government of Florida.

The chief financial officer (CFO) 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 was created by a constitutional referendum in 1998 and officially opened on January 1, 2003.

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

Current officeholder[edit]

The current CFO is Jimmy Patronis (R). Patronis was appointed to the position on June 26, 2017, by Gov. Rick Scott (R).^[1]

Authority[edit]

The office of chief financial officer is established in Article IV of the Florida 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[edit]

The CFO must be at least 30 years old and have resided in the state for seven years prior to serving.

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[edit]

Florida state government organizational chart

The CFO is elected to four-year terms in federal midterm election years (e.g. 2014, 2018, 2022). The CFO assumes office on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following the election.

2022[edit]

See also: Florida Chief Financial Officer election, 2022

General election

General election for Florida Chief Financial Officer

Incumbent Jimmy Patronis defeated Adam Hattersley in the general election for Florida Chief Financial Officer on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jimmy Patronis (R)	59.5	4,528,811
	Adam Hattersley (D)	40.5	3,085,697

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,614,508
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Richard Dembinsky (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Adam Hattersley advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida Chief Financial Officer.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jimmy Patronis advanced from the Republican primary for Florida Chief Financial Officer.

2018[edit]

See also: Florida Treasurer election, 2018

General election

General election for Florida Chief Financial Officer

Incumbent Jimmy Patronis defeated Jeremy Ring in the general election for Florida Chief Financial Officer on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jimmy Patronis (R)	51.7	4,152,221
	Jeremy Ring (D)	48.3	3,872,540
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	297

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,025,058
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2014[edit]

See also: Florida down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Florida Treasurer, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Atwater Incumbent	58.9%	3,353,897
	Democratic	William "Will" Rankin	41.1%	2,337,727
Total Votes				5,691,624
Election results via Florida Division of Elections

Vacancies[edit]

The governor fills a vacancy by appointing a replacement to serve out the remainder of the term.^[2] 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[edit]

The CFO 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. The department also performs non-financial regulatory duties, including insurance licensing and fraud investigation, funeral parlor and cemetery licensing, and public assistance fraud investigation. The CFO also acts as state fire marshal, certifying firefighters, setting training standards, and investigating potential arson.^[1]

Divisions[edit]

As of January 14, 2021, divisions within the Chief Financial Officer's Office included:^[3]

Accounting and Auditing
Consumer Services
Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services
Insurance Agent and Agency Services
Investigative and Forensic Services
Public Assistance Fraud
Rehabilitation and Liquidation
Risk Management
Treasury
State Fire Marshal
Unclaimed Property
Workers' Compensation

State budget[edit]

See also: Florida state budget and finances

The budget for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer in Fiscal Year 2024 was $116,855,984.^[4]

Compensation[edit]

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of elected executive officials in Florida are determined by state law as mandated in the Florida Constitution. Article II, Section 5 of the state constitution states that compensation of state officers is determined by the Florida State Legislature.

Text of Section 5:

Public Officers

(a) No person holding any office of emolument under any foreign government, or civil office of emolument under the United States or any other state, shall hold any office of honor or of emolument under the government of this state. No person shall hold at the same time more than one office under the government of the state and the counties and municipalities therein, except that a notary public or military officer may hold another office, and any officer may be a member of a constitution revision commission, taxation and budget reform commission, constitutional convention, or statutory body having only advisory powers.

(b) Each state and county officer, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall give bond as required by law, and shall swear or affirm:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida; that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the state; and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of (title of office) on which I am now about to enter. So help me God.”,and thereafter shall devote personal attention to the duties of the office, and continue in office until a successor qualifies.

(c) The powers, duties, compensation and method of payment of state and county officers shall be fixed by law.