Title: Chief Financial Officer

Summary: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to revise the duties and responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer, etc.

Full Text:
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section of Article IV of the State Constitution to revise the duties and responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer. Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: That the following amendment to Section of Article IV of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next general election or at an earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that purpose: ARTICLE IV EXECUTIVE SECTION 4. Cabinet.  (a) There shall be a cabinet composed of an attorney general, a chief financial officer, and a commissioner of agriculture. In addition to the powers and duties specified herein, they shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law. In the event of a tie vote of the governor and cabinet, the side on which the governor voted shall be deemed to prevail. (b) The attorney general shall be the chief state legal officer. There is created in the office of the attorney general the position of statewide prosecutor. The statewide prosecutor shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the state attorneys to prosecute violations of criminal laws occurring or having occurred, in two or more judicial circuits as part of a related transaction, or when any such offense is affecting or has affected two or more judicial circuits as provided by general law. The statewide prosecutor shall be appointed by the attorney general from not less than three persons nominated by the judicial nominating commission for the supreme court, or as otherwise provided by general law. (c) The chief financial officer shall serve as the chief fiscal officer of the state, and shall:(1)  Settle and approve accounts against the state;, and shall (2)  Keep all state funds and securities;(3)  Participate as a principal in consensus economic, demographic, and revenue estimating conferences; and (4) As prescribed by general law, review and certify, before execution, that each proposed contract of a state agency, entity, or officer of the executive branch requiring a payment or aggregate payments in excess of ten million dollars from funds appropriated to the state agency, entity, or officer: a. Complies with general laws relating to procurement; b. Includes all provisions required by general law for state agency contracts; and c. Does not require payments by the state agency, entity, or officer in any fiscal year in excess of the amount appropriated for that fiscal year or the amount authorized by general law, for the purpose of the contract.The legislature shall enact legislation to implement this paragraph,including the adjustment, to be adjusted at least every four years, of the contract amount threshold to reflect the rate of inflation or deflation as indicated in the Consumer Pric eIndex for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or a successor index, as calculated by the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor agency. (d) The commissioner of agriculture shall have supervision of matters pertaining to agriculture except as otherwise provided by law. (e) The governor as chair, the chief financial officer, and the attorney general shall constitute the state board of administration, which shall succeed to all the power, control, and authority of the state board of administration established pursuant to Article IX, Section of the Constitution of 1885, and which shall continue as a body at least for the life of Article XII, Section 9(c). (f) The governor as chair, the chief financial officer, the attorney general, and the commissioner of agriculture shall constitute the trustees of the internal improvement trust fund and the land acquisition trust fund as provided by law. (g) The governor as chair, the chief financial officer, the attorney general, and the commissioner of agriculture shall constitute the agency head of the Department of Law Enforcement. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be placed on the ballot: CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ARTICLE IV, SECTION DUTIES OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. Expands the Chief Financial Officer s duties to require that he or she participate as a principal in consensus economic, demographic, and revenue estimating conferences and review and certify certain state contracts above a threshold dollar amount to ensure compliance with certain laws and that such contracts do not require payments in any fiscal year which exceed the amount appropriated or the amount authorized by law. Requires the Legislature to enact legislation to implement the amendment.