Election Night Brings No Changes to Financial Services Commission
The Governor and Cabinet serve as a collegial governing body known as the Financial Services Commission, which has rulemaking authority for the Office of Insurance Regulation. In addition, the FSC designates the insurance commissioner by a majority vote, with the Governor and Chief Financial Officer required to be on the same side. After last night’s elections, we now know the composition of the FSC will remain the same.
Governor Rick Scott prevailed in a hard fought race against former Governor Charlie Crist, who was a Republican when he previously served but who became a Democrat for this race. Insurance issues took on a high profile in the race, as Governor Scott has been able to point to reductions in the state’s residual market mechanisms and a reduced potential assessment burden on Floridians. Crist, on the other hand, pointed to battles he waged with the insurance industry to mandate rate reductions, which in turn contributed to the large increase in residual market policies.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, all Republicans, easily outdistanced their rivals to retain their Cabinet positions and their seats on the Financial Services Commission.