WYFF Channel 4: SC leaders to create plan for for spending American Rescue Plan Act funds

June 15, 2021

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Leaders from across South Carolina will come together Tuesday to discuss funds coming to the state from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Gov. Henry McMaster will hold the 2 p.m. meeting with members of accelerateSC. You can watch the meeting in the video box above.

The group will receive an overview from South Carolina Department of Administration staff on the many funding streams coming to the state.

McMaster originally established accelerateSC in 2020 as a coordinated economic revitalization plan that included representatives from the business community, health care professionals, local government officials, and education professionals. AccelerateSC consisted of five components, which helped guide the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Response, Protection, Governance, Resources, and Information.

The latest team of accelerateSC will be comprised 12 original members, two from Greenville, including Mayor Knox White. James Burns, who is a partner at the law firm of Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough and previously served as executive director of accelerateSC, will chair the group.

McMaster will develop and distribute his recommendations for how the General Assembly should invest ARPA funds following a series of accelerateSC meetings.

Members of accelerateSC include:

Lou Kennedy –Kennedy is CEO and owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals in West Columbia. Nephron is on the frontlines of the nationwide response to COVID-19, manufacturing more than half of the respiratory solutions used to treat symptoms associated with the virus. Kennedy is chairman of S.C. BIO, the largest advocacy group for the life sciences industry in the state, and the immediate past chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

To read the entire story, visit WYFF Channel 4.