Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal of Florida explained

The Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal (commonly referred to as State Treasurer) is a former statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was abolished following the Florida Cabinet reforms of 1998 which took effect in 2003.[1]

A statewide office, with a seat in the Cabinet, the official handled the duties of the State Treasurer, Commissioner of Insurance, and Fire Marshal. These duties included payroll, pensions, tax collection, state finances, insurance regulation, and the investigation of fires. The most visible responsibility of the officeholder was as Insurance Commissioner.

Following the Cabinet reform, the office was merged with that of the state Comptroller to create the new office of Chief Financial Officer of Florida, which oversees the Florida Department of Financial Services. The new department contains many of the functions of the previous offices, but has less direct control over insurance regulation than the previous office did. This was done to lessen the control of one person over financial services regulation in the state.

Tom Gallagher was the last Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal and the first CFO. Other persons who held the office included U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and William D. Gunter, Jr.

Officeholders

Party! Treasurers
Democratic18
Republicanalign=right 4
Whigalign=right 1
Territorial Era (1821–1845)
ImageNameTerm of ServicePolitical Party
1Benjamin Byrd1845–1848Democratic
2William R. Hayward1848–1853Whig
3Charles H. Austin, Jr.1853–1868Democratic
4Simon B. Conover1868–1873Republican
5Charles H. Foster1873–1877Republican
6Walter Gwynn1877–1881Democratic
7Henry A. l'Engle1881–1885Democratic
8Edward S. Crill1885–1889Democratic
9Francis J. Pons1889–1891Democratic
10E. J. Triay1891–1893Democratic
11Clarence B. Collins1893–1897Democratic
12James B. Whitfield1897–1903Democratic
13William V. Knott1903–1912Democratic
14J. C. Luning1912–1928Democratic
15William V. Knott1928–1941Democratic
16J. Edwin Larson1941–1965Democratic
17Broward Williams1965–1971Democratic
18Thomas D. O'Malley Jr.1971–1975Democratic
19Phil Ashler1975–1976Democratic
20Bill Gunter1976–1989Democratic
21Tom Gallagher1989–1995Republican
22Bill Nelson1995–2001Democratic
23Tom Gallagher2001–2003Republican

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Florida Governors. Florida. State Library and Archives of. Florida Memory. en. 2019-07-23.