AUGUSTA, Maine — The salary for Maine's governor hasn't seen a raise since 1985, and it's not only the lowest in New England, but in the whole country.
Right now, there is a bipartisan push in Augusta to raise the governor's salary in Maine.
Maine's governor gets paid $70,000 a year, less than half of New Hampshire's governor at $143,000, the second lowest salary in New England. New York pays its governor the most in the country with an annual salary of $225,000.
"For many, many years, I have felt it's kind of embarrassing that the salary for the governor of Maine is by far the lowest in the country," Rep. William Bridgeo, D-Augusta, said.
Bridgeo and Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford, are co-sponsoring the bill. If passed, it would increase the governor's salary to $125,000 a year, plus a $40,000 expense allowance.
The bill would not go into effect until current Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, leaves office in January 2027. Her office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on whether she supports the proposed law.
However, former Republican governor, Paul Lepage, has said he supports the effort to raise the governor's salary.
"Changing it to anything less than $150,000 wouldn’t be worth the fight," LePage said. "Inflation warrants it, especially if we want good people to run."
The bill, LD 165, will get a public hearing before the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee in the coming weeks.
Rep. Bridgeo said the next step for his bill is to go in front of the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee.