AUSTIN — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott gives his top staffers six-figure wages that exceed those paid in California, Florida and other big states, an analysis by the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle has found.

Five of Abbott’s top administrators each make $265,000 a year. The men rank among the 50 highest paid Texas state employees, out-earning Attorney General Ken Paxton and Abbott himself, state pay data show.

It’s not unusual for top-earning gubernatorial staff members to rake in more than their bosses. But none of the governors of the largest five states pays as well as Abbott. The others also don’t place as many of their aides at the peak salary rung as Abbott.

The top-paid executive staffers in Florida, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, for example, all earn less than $200,000 salaries, the data show.

In California — a favorite punching bag of Abbott’s that is home to millions more residents — Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown pays his top aide $210,000, state records show. Two other Brown staffers earn salaries just over $200,000.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry had just two administrative staffers making more than $200,000 during his final year in office. Abbott is spending roughly $19 million on staff salaries, compared to $16.6 million Perry used at the start of 2014, according to state pay records.

Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews didn’t answer questions about how the office set salaries or why pay in the upper levels of the governor’s office has risen, saying only that Abbott is “a smart steward of the money appropriated to his office.”

“The legislature appropriates a set amount for staff salaries within the governor’s office, and we are currently operating well under budget,” she said in a written statement. “The governor achieved that savings while also attracting premiere talent to help lead Texas. The governor recruits and retains individuals who care deeply about making Texas a better state and are willing to work around the clock to achieve that goal.”

Three of Abbott’s staffers who earn $265,000 are recent hires, brought on last October after a top-level staff shake-up. They are chief of staff Luis Saenz, senior advisor for fiscal affairs Tommy Williams and policy director John Colyandro. Saenz, who returned to Abbott’s office after working as a lobbyist, is making more than Abbott’s former chief of staff, who earned $207,000 in 2017.

The two other top earners were promoted in the October shift. They are chief operating officer Reed Clay and Matt Hirsch, who is communications director and deputy chief of staff.

Despite a lack of gender diversity among the top five earning employees, women make up about 60 percent of Abbott’s roughly 250-member staff. Matthews noted that half the six-figure earners in Abbott’s office are women. The top-paid is his budget director, charged with overseeing hundreds of billions of dollars in state spending. She makes $195,000.

Abbott, who has pushed policies to curb local property taxes and limit growth in state spending to inflation, has wide discretion to set staff salaries.

Since taking office in 2015, he has nearly doubled the number of six-figure earners in his office to 48 since he succeeded Perry, salary data shows.

Ray Sullivan, a former Perry chief of staff, said it makes sense to pay a premium to hire quality staff away from the higher-paying private sector.

“If I was in my old job with the governor, I wouldn't care much about what other states do or pay,” he said. “I just want the best people around that I can find.”

At times, Perry boosted senior staff salaries with campaign funds, Sullivan said.

Abbott’s top five aides also collect money from his re-election campaign. Since February, the five men have received between $11,000 and $21,700 each, campaign finance records show. Matthews would not say whether that money augmented the men’s salaries or compensated them for campaign work. Abbott is facing off in the November election against Democrat Lupe Valdez, a former Dallas County sheriff.

Despite paying his staff top dollar, Abbott’s own $153,750 salary —set in the state budget — falls middle of the pack nationally. Brown earns the most, with a salary of $195,806 that is scheduled to rise to $201,680 in December. The lowest paid is Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who earns $70,000 a year.

The pay analysis compared state salary data provided by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and doesn’t include salaries paid to employees at public universities and colleges. Pay information from other states was gathered from public salary databases and recent news articles.

amorris@express-news.net