Today, I'm appointing Mr. Brian.
Grain Gaines of Columbia as a Controller
General for the State of South Carolina.
Mr. Gaines will serve until the
General Assembly elects someoneo
complete the remaining term of office,
which is over three years. Mr.
Gaines currently serves as Direr
of the Executive Budget Office within
the Department of Administratio.
He has served in numerous finanl
leadership roles within state government.
For over 16 years from the Department
of Employment and Workforce,
the old Budget and Control Board
now the Department of Administration.
He currently serves as a member
of Director Marsha Adams Senior
Leadership Team at the agency. .
Gaines is highly respected by everyone,
by the leadership of the General Assembly,
by the State Agency Directors and by me.
Mr.
Gaines leads a team of over a dozen finance
and budget analysts in the Executive Office.
They are responsible for the development
and oversight of the state budg,
starting with the
governor's executive budget.
They're responsible for assistig
the General Assembly with balang
and reconciling the annual State
Budget Conference Committee rep.
Additionally,
that office oversees the annual
Financial Accountability Report process
of each state agency and provids
oversight for the state's permat
improvement project processes.
Mr.
Gaines is a graduate of the University
of South Carolina holding a Bacr
of Arts degree in Political Scie
and also a Master's degree in
Public Administration,
and he has earned numerous professional
certifications and accolades.
His parents are with us today.
His parents Mr.
Oscar Gaines and Peggy Washingt.
I know Miss your mother is is here and we
welcome them and also Chief Justice Beatty.
Has joined us here today to
administer the oath of office t.
Gaines.
And if the family will please come forward.
OK,
let's
come
over here on the Bible and
raise it right. Turn this way.
No, that's good. That's good.
Left hand on the Bible.
Raise your right hand,
please, and repeat after me.
I do solemnly swear.
I do solemnly swear that I am duly qualified,
That I am duly qualified accordg
to the constitution of this Sta,
according to the constitution of this State,
the exercise of duties.
To exercise the duties of the office of
the office to which I've been appointed,
who which I've been appointed,
and that I will, and that I wil,
to the best of my ability,
to the best of my ability.
Discharge those duties.
Discharge those duties,
and we'll preserve and preserve,
protect, protect and defend and defend
the Constitution of the United States,
and this state and this state.
So help my God. So help me God.
Congratulations, Sir.
Y'all want to ask Mr.
Gain General Gaines some questi.
Mr. Gaines this job lawmakers ae
trying to make a point of posit.
If they're unsuccessful in making that
case or voters don't vote to do that,
will you be yourself as a candie
in this office in 2026? No.
Will you be campaigning around state to
try to make this in point of position? No.
I see my role as carrying
out the duties of the
office of the Comptroller Gener,
and those duties will be carried
out for as long as I'm in this e
and such such time as the Generl
Assembly decides to elect someone else.
We are very lucky at the Department of
Administration to have a welltrd
senior Executive level staff and until Mr.
Gaines returns to admin when the General
Assembly selects a new Comptroller, Mike
Shealy will be filling in that role for us.
Considering this is all come
about within the last day or so,
I've not had much time for.
Lot of reflection on on
that particular point,
but I'm sure as time goes on I l
have an opportunity to fully dit
what this means for not only met
for the state of South Carolina.
But in any regard,
I think the fact that I am stang
here today is a is a momentous
occasion and a great thing for t
only our state but also for mys.
That remains to be seen.
I think my first priorities are to make
sure I understand what's going .
I do have a general understandig
of what goes on in the Comptrolr
General's office on my current
position in state government.
But first priorities are going
to be figuring out what's going
on and what needs to be moving
forward after that point.
I
think it's working with the staf
and making sure that the act for
in which you're referring to is
developed in the manner in which
it's complies with all the thins
it needs to comply with.
And is done as best and
accurately as we possibly can.
He's qualified. He's respected
by everyone. He has enormous experience.
He's not a political person and everyone
that that we discussed this with has great
respect and confidence in Mr. Gaines.
Governor House members have said
that they want to do the job.
Senators have mentioned Mike Shy
for the comfortable job and the.
No agreement, you can hold an
election and I doubt the Senate
will actually ever agree to an
election just by the sheer numb.
Do you have any faith that
no election be able to
come to an agreement?
Well, the the law provides
for them to come to agreement.
They'll be coming back for
this special session and I I
believe that they will come to
an agreement of some kind at
some point and make an election.
They were recommended of course,
it along with the many others,
but this, this man, Michael Gaines is,
is the man for this job.
Say
it again.
It it either way suits me.
The important thing is we need o
have qualified people in these y
important positions and we are.
We're very happy that Brian
Gaines has has agreed to do thi.
He walking away from his work ae
Department of Administration is is going
to take a little bit of of adjustment,
but Miss Adams is confident that
she and her team can handle tha.
And so we we are we're just we'e
fortunate to have someone of ths
ability that has the confidencef
everyone involved that Brian Gaines has.
We we did some research on that and the
question was whether it was or was not,
it was a, it was still a questi.
There's no authority answering that question.
And that's one reason that
we we're moving quickly.
Yeah.
Well that's been thoroughly digd
in the in the papers and reported on.
But I'm I have great confidence
in Brian Gaines and in the his
ability to work with people ands
familiarity with these processe.
And again he has the he has
the confidence of of all that
we discuss this with anything
else in the controller general.
Anything else you want to say?
Thank you very much holding
you for all the topics can hold.