House members want to increase salaries for FL governor, Cabinet officers and judges in 2027-28

Gov. Ron DeSantis currently makes $141,400 in his full-time job as Florida governor, which right now is lower than at least ten other governors around the country, but under a proposal (PCB APC 24-04) moving in the Florida Legislature the salaries of the governor, cabinet officers and judges would all increase in the coming years.

The bill says that beginning in the 2027-2028 fiscal year (when DeSantis would no longer be serving as governor due to term limits), the salary of the governor would increase to “at least 100%” of what a member of the Florida Supreme Court makes, which currently is $251,414.

The proposal also says that the salaries of the lieutenant governor and the state Cabinet offices — attorney general, chief financial officer, and agricultural commissioner — would also rise to at least 95 percent of the annual salary established for the governor. Currently, the lieutenant governor’s salary is $135, 515, and the Cabinet officers are $139,988.

The bill also calls for raising the annual salaries of judges in Florida to a certain percentage of what Florida Supreme Court justices make. District courts of appeal judges (who currently make $212,562) would go to at least 90 percent of a Supreme Court justice; Circuit court judges (who now make $191,163) would make up to 80 percent of the annual salary for a Supreme Court justice, and the annual salary of a county judge (who make $180,616) would be at least 75 percent of the annual salary of a Supreme Court justice.

The salaries of all Florida lawmakers and judges come from the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic and Research’s report from last September.

There would be no direct pay increase for state lawmakers who currently make $29,697.

The proposal says that legislators would receive a monthly allowance for intradistrict expenses in an amount set annually by the Speaker of the House and Senate President.

House Democratic Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell asked why the salary bump for the governor was needed, and House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Leek replied that the Florida governor’s salary is the lowest among the ten biggest states in the nation.

The salaries for the governors of California, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee all make more than $200,000, according to Ballotpedia. And the governors of states like Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Vermont and Ohio also make more that the governor of Florida does.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.