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An Auburn license plate in Florida is a bad idea

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A pair of eminent Florida politicos want to introduce legislation to create a specialty Florida license plate bearing the logo of Auburn University. That’s a bad idea for several reasons. No animus against Democratic strategist Kevin Cate, one of the kindest political people around, or Rep. Jamie Grant, who gives me courage despite my own receding hairline. But this is an idea whose time should never come. Florida, for one thing, has enough trouble supporting its own institutions. Historians and scholars studying Florida often…

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David Altmaier named Insurance Commissioner

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A 34-year-old former high school math teacher was named Friday to be the next Florida Insurance Commissioner. David Altmaier, 34, currently a deputy commissioner at the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), starts on Monday. Altmaier, who will be paid $165,000 a year, began at OIR as an insurance examiner in 2008. The selection caps off weeks of indecision. Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater have deadlocked at two previous Cabinet meetings. State law dictates they first have to agree on…

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Top state officials still can’t agree on new Insurance Commissioner

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A second Florida Cabinet meeting has ended with no agreement on a new state Insurance Commissioner. Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater again deadlocked on Tuesday, further stalling the process. In a near replay of the last meeting, an intransigent Scott again moved to hire retired insurance executive Jeffrey Bragg. An equally intransigent Atwater declined to second the nomination after an almost palpably long silence. Under state law, Scott and Atwater first have to agree on one candidate. The Office Of Insurance Regulation is under the Department…

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Could new Insurance Commissioner be hired Tuesday?

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And then there were four. Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet are scheduled to interview four candidates Tuesday for the position of state Insurance Commissioner. The Cabinet meeting kicks off at 9 a.m. in the Capitol. The interviews, which could result in someone being appointed at the meeting, are last on the agenda. Time is of the essence: Hurricane season starts June 1. “The coming … season should produce a near-average 12 named storms before it ends in November,” Insurance…

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Stormy times: Florida officials squabble over insurance pick

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Thanks to an arcane state law, Florida could enter hurricane season with no one firmly in charge of the state agency responsible for regulating the state’s at-times fragile insurance industry. The reason? The two Republican elected officials responsible for picking a new commissioner are locked in a stalemate over who should be hired to replace outgoing Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater have been backing rival candidates for the job, which has delayed…

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Jeff Atwater selects three for OIR top job

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Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater again picked state Rep. Bill Hager and two others to be interviewed for state Insurance Commissioner at next Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. The decision came in a Thursday email. The current commissioner, Kevin McCarty, plans to leave the post this year. Hager, a former Iowa Insurance Commissioner, is Atwater’s choice but Gov. Rick Scott wouldn’t second the nomination at the last meeting. Under state law, Scott and Atwater first have to agree on one candidate. The Office of Insurance…

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In letter, Kevin McCarty says he’s willing to extend departure date

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Kevin McCarty is telling his bosses: You need more time? You got it. The state’s outgoing Insurance Commissioner on Wednesday wrote separate but identical letters to Gov. Rick Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. He said he would delay his departure to “45 days after my successor is appointed.” The state still hasn’t hired his replacement. The 56-year-old had announced in January that he was stepping down. He had held the post since 2003 and…

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