In a largely ceremonial event that included a visit by Smokey Bear, newly elected Gov. Rick Scott convened the Florida Cabinet on Wednesday, the first time in 100 years that the entire panel was comprised of newly elected members meeting with a new governor.
The all-Republican group also included Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
Following brief comments from the members, the group got to work by recognizing Smokey and the Florida Division of Forestry to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Florida state forests.
The panel then unanimously approved Scott’s nominee to head the Department of Environmental Protection, Herschel Vinyard.
“Congratulations. You’ve got a lot of work to do,” Scott said after the vote.
Wednesday’s meeting reflected a changing of the guard.
Unlike his immediate predecessors, Scott did not conduct a pre-Cabinet media availability and exited the meeting without taking questions, choosing instead to meet the press at an Associated Press planning meeting going on concurrently on the 22nd floor of the Capitol.
The News Service of Florida
