Lawmakers gathering in Augusta next week to start the 132nd Legislature will make more money than their predecessors, who voted last session to increase compensation by 61%.

A bill inserted into Gov. Janet Mills’ budget increased pay for members of Maine’s part-time Legislature to $45,000 for a two-year term, up from just under $28,000.

Lawmakers also voted to increase the governor’s annual salary from $70,000 — the lowest in the nation — to $125,000 a year. They also quadrupled the governor’s expense account to $40,000 from $10,000. Mills won’t benefit from the changes, however. Those increases — the first since 1987 — will take effect when a new governor takes office in 2026.

Maine’s Constitution prevents lawmakers and governors from increasing their own salaries, which is why they apply to future Legislatures and governors. Lawmakers who served in the last Legislature and were reelected in November will get the increased pay.

The proposal to increase legislative salaries drew bipartisan support from lawmakers who described their roles as full-time jobs that demand a lot of time away from their families and workplaces. Increasing pay, they argued, would allow more people to consider serving.

House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, told the Press Herald last year that salaries were “way too low.”

“If we want a better representation of the public, we need to increase salaries so working-class people can serve in these positions,” Faulkingham said.

It was one spending priority on which Republicans and Democrats agreed.

Rep. Laurie Osher, D-Orono, said low pay presents “a structural barrier for young people, people of color, and low-income and working-class Mainers.”

“Because of this, the Legislature does not accurately reflect the Mainers who elect us,” Osher said. “There are vital perspectives that are underrepresented or even missing from the conversation because too many Mainers cannot afford to serve.”

The pay increases are projected to cost nearly $1.7 million this year.

Lawmakers will earn $25,000 for the first regular session, scheduled to end on June 18, and $20,000 for the second regular session, scheduled to end on April 15, 2026.

Lawmakers also receive an annual cost of living adjustment to their salary, as well as allowances for meals and lodging.

And because Maine has a part-time legislature and most lawmakers commute from all corners of the state to Augusta during the sessions, lawmakers have the option of receiving a $150-a-day meals and lodging allowance to defray hotel or apartment costs, or getting reimbursed for mileage for their commutes.

Maine’s 186 lawmakers received a combined $1.7 million in reimbursements during the 2023 legislative session.