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Constitutional framework
Florida’s government is based on a 1968 revision of its constitution of 1885. There are a number of important constitutional prohibitions and tax exemptions, including prohibition against personal income tax and inheritance tax and exemptions that relate to homesteads.
The executive branch comprises the governor and an independent cabinet of three elected officers (attorney general, chief financial officer, and commissioner of agriculture). The governor and members of the cabinet each serve four-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms. The legislature is composed of a 40-member Senate and a 120-member House of Representatives. Senators serve four-year terms and House members serve two-year terms. The legislature meets each year for 60 days.
Judiciary powers are exercised through courts established by the constitution: the Supreme Court, five district courts of appeal, 20 circuit courts, and 67 county courts. Appellate judges are initially appointed by the governor; other judges are elected to office on a nonpartisan ballot.
In the late 20th century the state of Florida started to experience a growth in crime that paralleled its population explosion. After a 15-year hiatus, the state resumed in 1979 the regular execution of criminals who had been convicted of capital crimes.
Until the last quarter of the 20th century, most Floridians were registered to vote as Democrats. The state legislature was similarly dominated by Democrats, as was the office of governor. By the early 21st century, however, the gap between the number of Democratic and Republican voters had narrowed considerably, Republicans outweighed Democrats in the legislature, and two Republican governors had been elected in succession. Republicans also gained prominence in top-level state executive offices and won many seats in the U.S. Congress. Despite the former strength of the Democratic Party in Florida, the state has since World War II most often voted for Republicans in presidential elections. Since the 1990s, however, races have been won by an ever-shrinking margin; in 2000 the presidential vote was so close that the outcome was highly disputed. The state’s political character has bifurcated largely along geographic lines, with northern Florida voting overwhelmingly for Republican candidates and southern Florida tending to vote for Democrats, particularly in the populous Broward (Fort Lauderdale), Dade (Miami), and Palm Beach counties. Although Hispanic voters have provided a strong base of support for the Democratic Party nationally, Cuban Americans, particularly those in Dade county, have voted in large numbers for the Republican Party.
Health and welfare
Socially, Florida regards itself as a progressive state, and a major proportion of the state’s financial resources go into those areas that serve the public, especially education, social welfare, health, and hospitals. The Department of Health administers an array of assistance programs for the elderly, the disabled, and families with dependent children. The Department of Children and Families is primarily responsible for child welfare, including the prevention of child neglect and abuse, but also offers services for refugees, the mentally ill, the homeless, and those with drug and alcohol dependencies. Florida’s expenditure per capita for health and hospitals exceeds the U.S. average and is among the highest of those of the heavily populated states. Public welfare payments, on the other hand, are among the lowest in the country. Florida ranks at the bottom of all Sunbelt and populous states in this respect. In part, this is a reflection of the public’s refusal to offer welfare to the needy of other states who seek refuge in Florida’s tropical and subtropical environment.
In total personal income, Florida ranks among the top states nationally, and it ranks near the middle in income per capita. Unemployment in Florida usually runs below the national average, and the diversified economy of the state has not been as subject to labour fluctuations as in many other areas where one industry dominates the economy. Major resort areas notwithstanding, the cost of living in Florida is generally below the national urban average.
Education
Florida supports the public school system to the extent that no child is deprived of a minimum standard of education, while the counties are expected to supplement this minimum. Virtually the entire population of Florida is within commuting distance of a state-supported college or university, part of an extensive system of higher education. More than 10 institutions are state-supported universities, the most prominent of which include the University of Florida (1853) in Gainesville and Florida State University (1851) and Florida A&M (1887; a historically black school) in Tallahassee; several of these institutions offer courses on multiple campuses. In addition to the university system, Florida maintains a large network of community colleges, which offer the first two years of university-equivalent courses in addition to terminal programs in technical areas. While some of these colleges grant bachelor’s degrees in certain fields, most offer the baccalaureate in a broad range of disciplines through partnership with larger four-year institutions. Private sources support other institutions of higher learning, ranging from small, highly specialized schools to major universities, such as the University of Miami.
Elementary and secondary education has been challenged both by the rapid increase in enrollments for decades and by the ethnic and cultural diversity of the school population. Even so, state and local governments have managed to fund schools in Florida at a higher level than in most nearby Southern states.