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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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The million dollar Insurance Commissioner question

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About a month ago, when FloridaPolitics.com offered “The Good, the Bad and the Interesting” of the applicants for the next Insurance Commissioner, we highlighted the legal requirements for the job. They’re high … on purpose. HB 3, passed in Special Session E in 2002, implemented a 1998 constitutional amendment that merged the jobs of Comptroller and Treasurer into the Chief Financial Officer position, shrinking the number of statewide elected officials serving on the Cabinet. The Offices of Financial Regulation and…

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Pam Bondi goes to Nevada

Drawing on lessons learned after a nightclub massacre last year in Orlando, Attorney General Pam Bondi and members of her

Rick Scott, Cabinet make no decision on next Insurance Commissioner

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With no clear winner between finalists Jeffrey Bragg and Bill Hager, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday decided to keep taking applications for state Insurance Commissioner. Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam agreed to extend the deadline to April 15; the next Cabinet meeting is April 26. Scott and Atwater, however, first must agree on one candidate under state law. The Office of Insurance Regulation is in the Department of…

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