Dan Sweeney, Sun Sentinel
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty hasn't been removed from office, but already the wheels are turning to prevent his successors from being fired.
The Florida Association for Insurance Reform, a Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit coalition of insurance groups, on Thursday took the first steps to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2016 that would make the insurance commissioner an elected position.
The initiative comes after Gov. Rick Scott removed Florida Department of Law Enforcement commissioner Gerald Bailey on Dec. 16. Scott then stated Tuesday he wanted to look at replacing three more prominent agency heads, including McCarty.
"Kevin McCarty has been the insurance commissioner for three governors in what was the most productive and transformative time for insurance in Florida, and he has been instrumental in managing that change," said Jay Neal, president and CEO of the reform group.
"We've looked across the country at states that have elected and appointed insurance commissioners," Neal said. "My preference would be for a nonpartisan election, with no term limits and no insurance industry contributions, though we'd have to make sure that cleared campaign finance laws."
Rumors had been swirling for more than a week that McCarty would be removed by the newly re-elected governor. The replacement would require the votes of Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and either Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam or Attorney General Pam Bondi.
But all three have pushed back at Scott after Bailey said he had been forced out after refusing to lie and name an Orange County clerk as the target of an investigation by state police. According to Bailey, Scott's office asked Bailey to make the claim after two men escaped from prison with forged documents that included an Orange County clerk seal. Bailey refused. Bailey said he was then asked to either resign or be fired.
Scott denied the allegation, but did admit Bailey had not resigned on his own. Afterward, the governor's Cabinet members all were taken aback as Scott's office had earlier said Bailey had resigned.
Atwater, Putnam and Bondi signed off on Bailey's removal but now want a public hearing on the matter at the next Cabinet meeting, which is Feb. 5.
At least two — Atwater and Putnam — have called for a third-party investigation.
On Thursday morning, Neal's group filed paperwork in Tallahassee to create a political committee, Floridians for FAIR Insurance Regulation.
Although an investigation could make it harder for Scott to remove McCarty, it isn't stopping FAIR from going forward with its plan.
"There will be pressures whether or not someone is appointed or elected," Neal said. "At least with an elected commissioner, those pressures are more transparent and we'll have somebody responsible directly for an important part of public policy."
The commissioner runs the Office of Insurance Regulation, and McCarty has held the position since 2003, when it was created. Previously, the role of insurance commissioner had been part of the responsibilities of an elected position, the Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal. That position was done away with in 2003, replaced by the state Chief Financial Officer.
As insurance commissioner, McCarty guided the state through the hurricane-heavy years of the mid-2000s and presided over the recent shrinkage of Citizens as private insurance companies returned to the state.
FAIR has to move quickly if it intends to get an amendment on the ballot in 2016.
The proposed amendment language has to be approved by the Florida Supreme Court, and then more than 680,000 signatures will be needed before Feb. 1, 2016. Many organizations with plans for ballot initiatives in 2016 began the process months ago.
"It's challenging, but we have a considerable amount of resources," Neal said. "The logistics are difficult, but they're not impossible."
dsweeney@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4605 or Twitter @Daniel_Sweeney
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