Jeff Atwater
A
fifth-generation Floridian, husband and father of four, Jeff Atwater was first
elected Florida's Chief Financial Officer on November 2, 2010, and sworn into
office on January 4, 2011. He was reelected to a second term on November 4,
2014, and sworn into office on January 6, 2015. His commitment to public service
began in 1993, when his hometown of North Palm Beach elected him Vice Mayor. Mr.
Atwater was subsequently elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and the
Florida Senate in 2002 and was unanimously selected by his fellow senators to
serve as Senate President in 2008.
Jeff Atwater's family has had a long and distinguished commitment to public
service at local, municipal and state levels. Family values of fairness,
stewardship of the public trust, and an unshakeable faith in the American ethos
have informed his sense of duty and responsibility in all facets of his public
and private careers. He believes that the principle role of government is to
create the conditions where the individuals, families and businesses of Florida
are given every opportunity to flourish. Hard work, the value of education,
commitment to Judeo-Christian ethics, and belief in the promise of America are
to be encouraged and rewarded, not stymied by an overreaching government.
CFO Atwater's priorities since assuming office have been to aggressively
eliminate the fraud that increases the cost of living for Floridians, reduce
regulations that inhibit job growth and economic expansion, expand his earlier
efforts at fiscal transparency and governmental accountability, and protect the
state's most vulnerable citizens from financial harm and abuse.
Mr. Atwater earned his bachelor's degree in finance and an MBA from the
University of Florida. His private sector experiences, which included
twenty-five years of community banking, provide him a unique and valuable
perspective on the sacrifices and challenges facing the business men and women
of Florida, as well as the impact of government on the individuals and families
of this state. In addition to his service as an elected official, CFO Atwater
has performed volunteer work with many charitable and not-for-profit
organizations and has served on a number of governing boards, including the
United Way, Chamber of Commerce, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and Take Stock in
Children, among others.
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Chief Financial Officer
Florida's CFO oversees the state's accounting and auditing functions and
unclaimed property, monitors the investment of state funds and manages the
deferred compensation program and risk management program for the state.
Insurance consumer service is handled by the CFO, and the office is
responsible for the licensing and oversight of insurance agents and agencies, as
well as funeral homes and cemeteries.
Insurance fraud investigation also is overseen by the CFO, as well as ensuring
businesses have workers' compensation coverage in place for employees and
helping injured workers with benefit payments and re-employment.
The state's CFO also serves as Florida's State Fire Marshal. The Division of
State Fire Marshal is a sworn law enforcement agency that provides various
fire-related services throughout the state, from assisting local fire
departments by conducting arson investigations to training citizens at one of
the finest fire-training colleges in the state.
Florida's CFO serves as one of three constitutionally elected state
executives of the Florida Cabinet, which consists of the Chief Financial
Officer, the Attorney General, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer
Services.
The Governor and Cabinet serve as a board of directors, or agency heads,
governing such matters as the purchase of state lands; clemency matters; state
bond, trust and fund management; veterans' affairs; state law enforcement
administration; tax collection; power plant and transmission line sitings; and
financial and insurance regulation for the state of Florida.