
Distinguished Service Award:
The Honorable Brian J. Gaines, MPA, CPM
Brian J. Gaines has been employed with South Carolina state government since May 2007. He has spent the majority of his career with the Department of Administration where he has held various positions to include Governmental Affairs Director, Policy and Public Affairs Director, and Deputy State Budget Director.
On January 1, 2017, he was appointed as the State Budget Director where he managed the state’s $40 billion operating and capital budgets and assisted the Governor with his Executive Budget recommendations to the General Assembly. On May 12, 2023, he was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to serve as Comptroller General, the state’s chief accounting officer, making him the state’s first African American Constitutional Officer since Reconstruction.
He is a proud graduate of the University of South Carolina where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Master of Public Administration degrees. He is originally from Barnwell, SC.