AUGUSTA (AP) — 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 21st century.

Maine State House is the state capitol of the State of Maine in Augusta, Maine, USA.