Photo of Murrell Smith

Murrell Smith

Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives

The Honorable G. Murrell Smith, Jr. is an attorney and current Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Smith is a native of Florence, South Carolina and grew up in Sumter, where he graduated from Wilson Hall in 1986. He attended Wofford College and graduated in 1990, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Government. After earning his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993, Smith began practicing law in his hometown while simultaneously serving as a part-time public defender from 1994-1998.

In 2000, Smith was elected to represent District 67 in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He began his legislative service as a member of the House Judiciary Committee where he eventually rose to the position of first vice chairman. In 2018, Smith was elected as Chairman of the powerful South Carolina House Ways and Means Committee. Smith also served as the Chairman of the House Ethics Committee until 2021 and was on the South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission until 2022. On May, 2022, Smith was elected to be the 61st Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. The American Flood Coalition is proud to have Speaker Murrell Smith as a member of our organization.

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Help Me Choose

Which characteristics is your community looking for in funding opportunities?

Disaster declaration
A Presidential Disaster Declaration unlocks a suite of federal programs that assist local governments with disaster recovery. This is a good filter for communities included in recent Disaster Declarations related to flooding.
Nature-based solutions
The program has a strong focus on providing assistance to promote a healthy ecosystem as a critical defense against flooding impacts. Eligible activities may include floodplain restoration, environmental stewardship, projects that use natural features to mitigate erosion, and living shorelines.
Encourages public-private partnerships
The program encourages or requires collaboration between government entities and stakeholders, including the private sector, to fund, develop, or implement projects.
Offers rolling deadlines
The program accepts applications on an ongoing basis with no fixed deadline.

Is your project in the planning, design, or construction phase?

Planning
The gathering of data and information regarding the extent and impacts of flooding. Eligible activities may include data acquisition, risk assessment, and environmental analysis.
Design & scoping
Covers pre-construction activities, such as defining project scope, developing technical designs, and securing funding to prepare for implementation.
Construction & implementation
Involves carrying out flood resilience projects, including building infrastructure and deploying solutions to reduce flood risks.

Are you looking for grants, loans, or technical assistance for your project?

Funding (grants)
A monetary award that does not need to be repaid. Many federal grants are reimbursable, meaning recipients must cover project costs upfront and then request reimbursement from the government.
Financing (loans)
A government-issued loan that must be repaid. These loans typically provide funding upfront, helping communities cover project costs before repayment begins.
Technical assistance
Assistance from the government in the form of services — such as project planning, engineering and design support, data analysis, training, capacity building, or collaboration through a cooperative agreement — instead of direct funding.

Some programs provide extra support for specific project types or communities. Do any of these apply to your project?

Small or rural communities
Programs that set aside funding, offer loan forgiveness, or adjust cost share requirements for communities with smaller populations.
Small or low-cost projects
Programs that offer reduced requirements for smaller projects, such as waived cost-sharing or exemptions from benefit-cost analysis.
Regional or watershed focus
Programs that support projects that take a watershed management approach or address flooding at a regional scale, requiring coordination beyond a single town or community.
Tribal communities
Programs that dedicate resources or adjust cost share requirements specifically for tribal governments or organizations.
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