Florida Government

The Government of Florida is fortified by the Constitution of Florida which was ratified on November 5, 1968. It has three branches which consist of  the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch and the Judicial Branch.

The Executive Branch of Government:-

The executive Branch of the government of Florida comprises of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Florida Cabinet which consists of the Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture and Chief Financial Officer.

The Governor of Florida is the supreme executive power in the state. He is the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Florida. The governor is elected by popular election every four years and may serve a maximum of two terms in a row. There is no lifetime limit on the number of times he or she may be elected, but a governor who has been elected to two consecutive terms must be out of office for at least one election cycle before being eligible once again for re-election.^[1].

Contact Details
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Phone: (850) 717-9337

Office of Governor

Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor is the second highest elected official in the state and has a great power on state policy and the concern of spending priorities. If the Governor is debilitated temporarily, the Lieutenant Governor exercises the duties of the Governor. If the Governor expires or can not fulfill his duties due to some reasons, the Lieutenant Governor serves the Governor's unexpired term.

Contact Details
Office of Lieutenant Governor State of Florida
PL-05 The Capitol Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Office of Lieutenant Governor

Attorney General^[2] - The top priorities of Attorney General includes strengthening penalties to stop pill mills, defending Florida’s constitutional rights against the federal health care law, Medicaid fraud, aggressively investigating mortgage fraud and make sure Florida reimbursing for Deepwater Horizon oil spill losses.

Contact Details
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050

Attorney General office

Commissioner of Agriculture ^[3].

The Florida Commissioner of Agriculture And Consumer Services is a state executive position in the Florida state government. The commissioner is a cabinet-level officer who manages the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the state agency that controls and supports the Florida agriculture industry.

Contact Details
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Plaza Level 10, The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800
1-800 HELP-FLA or 1-800-435-7352

Commissioner of Agriculture And Consumer Services office

Chief Financial Officer

The Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida is a state executive position in the government of Florida.
The chief financial officer regulates the Florida Department of Financial Services, a collection of state agencies including the Departments of Insurance, Treasury, State Fire Marshal and Banking & Finance.^[4].

Contact Details
200, East Gaines Street,
Tallahassee FL 32399
Phone: 1-877-693-5236 or Out of State: (850) 413-3089

The Legislative Branch

The Florida Legislative Branch consists of the Senate and House. The Florida Constitution directs a bicameral state legislature with an upper house, the Florida State Senate, and a lower house, the Florida House of Representatives. The two houses convene within the Florida State Capitol complex in Tallahassee.

Senate- The Florida Senate is one-half of the Florida Legislature which makes up the legislative branch of Florida government. The Senate is composed of 40 members ^[5], each elected from single-member districts across the state.

View the complete Senators list here.
Visit the page of Senates.

The Florida House of Representatives- The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislative branch. The state House of Representatives includes 120 representatives elected from individual legislative districts for a two-year term, limited to no more than four consecutive terms ^[6].

View the list of Representatives here.

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch consists of the Appellate Courts and the Trial Courts. The Appellate Court comprises of Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal. The Trial Court comprises Circuit and County courts.

Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme Court comprises of seven Justices. At least five Justices must participate in every case and at least four must agree for a verdict to be reached. The Court's official headquarters is the Supreme Court Building in Tallahassee.

Visit the Florida Supreme Court here.

District Courts of Appeal

Many trial court decisions that are appealed are never heard by the Supreme Court. Rather, they are reviewed by three-judge panels of the district courts of appeal. There are five District Courts of Appeal in Florida, located respectively in Lakeland, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee, Miami and Daytona Beach.

• First District Court of Appeal
• Second District Court of Appeal
• Third District Court of Appeal
• Fourth District Court of Appeal
• Fifth District Court of Appeal
  

For more information click here.

Trial Courts - Circuit

The Constitution endows a circuit court which is established to serve each judicial circuit established by the Legislature, of which there are twenty ^[7]. Within each circuit, there may be any number of judges, depending upon the inhabitants and cases of the particular area.

 Circuit Courts

• 1^st Circuit is in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton
• 2^nd Circuit is in Gadsden, Franklin, Liberty, Jefferson, Leon, and Wakulla
• 3^rd Circuit is in Dixie,Columbia, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Madison, and Taylor
• 4^th Circuit is in Duval,Clay and Nassau
• 5^th Circuit is in Marion, Hernando, Citrus, Lake and Sumter
• 6^th Circuit is in Pinellas and Pasco
• 7^th Circuit is in St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and Volusia
• 8^th Circuit  is in Gilchrist, Baker, Levy, Alachua, Bradford, and Union
• 9^th Circuit is in Osceola and Orange
• 10^th Circuit is in Highlands, Hardee and Polk
• 11^th Circuit is in Dade
• 12^th Circuit is in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto
• 13^th Circuit is in Hillsborogh
• 14^th Circuit is in Washington, Gulf, Jackson, Bay, Holmes and Calhoun
• 15th Circuit is in PalmBeach
• 16^th Circuit is in Monroe
• 17^th Circuit  is in Broward
• 18^th Circuit  is in   Seminole and Brevard
• 19^th Circuit  is in Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Indian River
• 20^th Circuit  is in Collier, Hendry, Charlotte, Glades and Lee

Trial Courts - County

The Constitution establishes a county court in each of Florida's 67 counties. The number of judges in each county court varies with the population and caseload of the county. The county courts are also known as "the people's courts," because a large part of the courts' work involves cases such as traffic offenses, less serious criminal matters, and relatively small monetary disputes.

State Agencies

Florida Health Department

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) was established by the Florida Legislature in 1996 ^[8]. The Florida Department of Health is responsible for defending the public health and security of the residents and countless visitors of the state of Florida. The Department is liable to the state legislature, the Executive Office of the Governor, all residents and visitors in the state, and the federal government The department has its headquarters in Tallahassee.

Contact Details
 2585 Merchants Row Boulevard
Tallahassee,  FL
Phone: 850 -245-4444  
Website: http://www.floridahealth.gov/

Florida Department of Transportation

The Florida Department of Transportation reports directly to the Governor to coordinate the planning and development of a safe, viable, and balanced state transportation system for all regions of the state. Florida’s transportation system includes roadway, air, rail, sea, spaceports, bus transit, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. ^[9].

Contact Details
Jim Boxold
Secretary
605 Suwannee Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450
Phone: 850-414-4100

Florida Revenue Department

 Florida Revenue Department  is responsible for handling revenue generated from the taxation of citizens and businesses. This department is also responsible for the collection of a wide variety of taxes.

•  Child Support Program  Working with families and partners to help children receive the child support they need and deserve.
  
  
• General Tax Administration  Collect state taxes fairly and efficiently, and make complying with Florida’s tax laws as simple and convenient as possible.
  
  
•  Property Tax Oversight manages Florida’s property tax system to check accuracy and equality in property valuation throughout the state.
  

Contact details
Florida Department of Revenue
5050 West Tennessee Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0100

Florida Department of Law Enforcement

The head of the department is the Governor and Cabinet. The Commissioner is appointed by the Governor, approved by the Cabinet and confirmed by the Senate.

Services are delivered via five areas:

• Executive Direction and Business Support
• Criminal Investigations and Forensic Science
• Florida Capitol Police
• Criminal Justice Information
• Criminal Justice Professionalism.

Contact Details
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
P.O. Box 1489
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1489

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References:-

1. Governor of Florida
2. Attorney General
3. Commissioner of Agriculture
4. Chief Financial Officer 
5. Senate
6. House of Representatives
7. Circuit Court
8. Health Department
9. The Florida Department of Transportation