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ARTICLE III.
Executive Department.
Section 1. The Supreme
Executive Power shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the
Governor of the State of Florida.
Section 2. The Governor shall
be elected for four years, by the qualified electors, at the time and place
where they shall vote for Representatives, and shall remain in office until a
successor be chosen and qualified, and shall not be eligible to re-election
until the expiration of four years thereafter.
Section 3. No person shall be
eligible to the office of Governor unless he shall have attained the age of
thirty years, shall have been a citizen of the United States ten years, or an
inhabitant of Florida at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, (being a
citizen of the United States,) and shall have been a resident of Florida at
least five years next preceding the day of election.
Section 4. The returns of
every election for Governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of
Government, directed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall,
during the first week of the session, open and publish them in the presence of
both Houses of the General Assembly, and the person having the highest number of
votes, shall be Governor; but if two or more shall be equal and highest in
votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of the two Houses;
and contested elections for Governor shall be determined by both Houses of the
General Assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.
Section
5. He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which
shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have
been elected.
Section 6. He shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of
this State, and of the Militia thereof.
Section 7. He may require
information in writing from the officers of the Executive Departments, on any
subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.
Section 8. He may, by
proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly at the
seat of Government, or at a different place, if that shall have become dangerous
from an enemy, or from disease; and in case of disagreement between the two
Houses with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time
as he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next meeting designated by
this Constitution.
Section 9. He shall, from time to time, give to the General
Assembly information of the State of the Government, and recommend to their
consideration such measures as he may deem expedient.
Section 10. He shall take
care that the laws be faithfully executed.
Section 11. In all criminal
and penal cases, (except of treason and impeachment,) after conviction, he shall
have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures under
such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by law; and in cases of
treason, he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
to grant reprieves and pardons; and he may, in the recess of the Senate, respite
the sentence until the end of the next session of the General Assembly.
Section 12.
There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and
used by him officially, with such device as the Governor first elected may
direct, and the present seal of the Territory shall be the seal of the State
until otherwise directed by the General Assembly.
Section 13. All commissions
shall be in the name, and by the authority of the State of Florida, be sealed
with the State seal, and signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary
of State.
Section 14. There shall be a Secretary of State appointed by joint
vote of both Houses of the General Assembly, who shall continue in office during
the term of four years; and he shall keep a fair register of the official acts
and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all
papers, minutes, and vouchers, relative thereto, before the General Assembly,
and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.
Section 15.
Vacancies that happen in offices, the appointment to which is vested in the
General Assembly, or given to the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate, shall be filled by the Governor during the recess of the General
Assembly, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next
session.
Section 16. Every bill, which shall have passed both Houses of the
General Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor; if he approve, he shall
sign it; but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the House in
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the
journals, and proceed to re-consider it; and if, after such re-consideration, a
majority of the whole number elected to that House, shall agree to pass the
bill, it shall be sent with the objections to the other House, by which it shall
likewise be re-considered; and if approved by a majority of the whole number
elected to that House, it shall become a law; but in such cases, the votes of
both Houses shall be by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for,
or against the bill, shall be entered on the journals of each House
respectively; and if any bill shall not be returned by the Governor, within five
days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him the same shall
be a law in like manner, as if he had signed it; unless the General Assembly by
their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case, it shall not be a law.
Section
17. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which concurrence of both Houses
may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, shall be presented to the
Governor; and before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or being
disapproved, be re-passed by both Houses, according to the rules and limitations
prescribed in case of a bill.
Section 18. In case of the
impeachment of the Governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify,
resignation, or absence from the State, the President of the Senate shall
exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of Governor,
during the term for which the Governor was elected; unless the General Assembly
shall provide by law for the election of a Governor to fill such vacancy; or,
until the Governor absent, or impeached, shall return, or be acquitted.
Section
19. If during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the President of the
Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die,
or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
in like manner, administer the Government.
Section 20. The President of the Senate, or Speaker of the House of Representatives,
during the time he administers the Government, shall receive the same
compensation which the Governor would have received.
Section 21. The Governor
shall always reside, during the sessions of the General Assembly, at the place
where their sessions are held, and at all other times wherever, in their
opinion, the public good may require.
Section 22. No person shall
hold the office of Governor, and any other office or commission, civil or
military, either in this State, or under any State, or the United States, or any
other power, at one and the same time, except the President of the Senate, or
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, when he shall hold the office, as
aforesaid.
Section 23. A State Treasurer, and Comptroller of Public Accounts,
shall be elected by joint vote of both Houses of the General Assembly, at each
regular session thereof.
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