Maine has the nation's lowest salary for a governor and a lawmaker says it's time to boost it.
Republican Rep. Bradlee Farrin is sponsoring a bill to raise the governor's salary from $70,000 to $150,000. The raise would start January 2019, so it wouldn't apply to Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
The bill is set for a public hearing Wednesday morning.
Farrin says Maine's chief executive is responsible for a more than $6 billion two-year budget and should be compensated accordingly. The lawmaker says the average salary nationwide is about $140,000.
Other statehouse staffers make more than the governor, and Farrin says it's time to bring Maine into the twentieth century.
