The heads of two Cabinet-level state agencies received new job titles Tuesday: "interim."
Commissioner Rick Swearingen of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Secretary Jon Steverson of the Department of Environmental Protection can keep their $150,000-a-year jobs. But they are the first state officials affected by new Cabinet governance rules that require a nationwide search when a vacancy arises at the helm of a state agency that reports to Gov. Rick Scott and the three elected Cabinet members.
Swearingen and Steverson got caught in the political crossfire between Scott and the Senate during the recently-ended legislative session. After senators refused to confirm them, Scott reappointed them on an interim basis Monday -- decisions the Cabinet ratified Tuesday.
Scott and the Cabinet had adopted new governance rules in March in the aftermath of the abrupt ouster of former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey in December. Those rules require updating of position descriptions with duties, minimum qualifications and compensation and new application time frames. Scott and the Cabinet said they hoped to appoint heads of both agencies in June.
Swearingen was Scott's handpicked choice for the top job at FDLE after Bailey was forced out on Dec. 16 by Scott's former general counsel, Pete Antonacci. The career law enforcement officer said he welcomed the competition and scrutiny as he seeks to win reappointment to his job.
"I'm not afraid of a nationwide search," Swearingen said.
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