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Congressman Norman Applauds Gov. McMaster on 5th District Opportunity Zone Nominations

Washington, March 23, 2018

Washington, D.C. –  Today, Congressman Ralph Norman (SC-05) joined Governor Henry McMaster, S.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt, South Carolina business leaders and local officials at a press conference to reveal the 135 Opportunity Zones chosen in South Carolina.

Opportunity Zones, a provision included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, are a new community development program that encourages long-term investment in low-income urban and rural communities. Implementation of Opportunity Zones is at the discretion of U.S. governors.

Earlier this month, Congressman Ralph Norman (SC-05) sent a letter to Governor McMaster asking him to consider all the 82 eligible areas that span across the 5th District’s eleven counties to be giving Opportunity Zone status.

Governor McMaster nominated the following areas in the 5th District of South Carolina as Opportunity Zones:

  • York County: parts of inner-city Rock Hill
  • Cherokee County: parts of Gaffney and Blacksburg
  • Newberry County: parts of Newberry
  • Lancaster County: parts of Lancaster
  • Union County: parts of Union
  • Chester County: parts of Chester
  • Kershaw County: parts of Camden
  • Sumter County:  parts of Sumter
  • Lee County: a large part of the county, including Bishopville
  • Fairfield County: most of the county (80% of Fairfield County which was most directly affected by the abandonment of construction of two nuclear reactors at VC Summer last year)

Congressman Norman has released the following statement:

“I am pleased to see that Governor McMaster nominated various areas in the 5th District as Opportunity Zones. What is even better is the Governor nominated an economically-distressed community in each county.

“From Cherokee to Fairfield to Sumter, he made sure that each county has the potential to grow economically, and provides an opportunity for great investment in these counties.

“This morning, I spoke in Fairfield County during the Governor’s announcement, and I look forward to working with their office, Sen. Tim Scott – who started this idea – and local businesses to get the ball rolling on helping the areas that need it most!”