Maine has led the way in improving the way elections are funded.

Last week, Connecticut followed along.

Ripped by scandals that led to the downfall of Gov. John Rowland, Connecticut’s legislature is the first in the country to limit the campaigns of its own members. In Maine, campaign reform was adopted at the ballot box through the initiative process.

The Connecticut reforms, which Gov. M. Jodi Rell says she will sign into law, mimics Maine’s voluntary system for publicly financing state elections. They also place broad restrictions on campaign contributions, banning gifts from lobbyists and state contractors, and limiting the power of political action committees. It also closes a loophole in current law that allows corporate donations.

Given the investigations that have embroiled politicians on the national stage, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Rep. Tom DeLay, Rep. William Jefferson and former Rep. Duke Cunningham and others, the public’s appetite for electoral reform may have more of the country looking to Maine, and now Connecticut, for direction.

Connecticut’s new rules are not perfect. Third-party candidates will have a more difficult time qualifying for public financing than major party candidates, an inequity that should be addressed before the statute takes effect at the end of December 2006. And special exemptions consolidate too much power with legislative leaders, who are able to use leadership PACs to benefit other candidates.

While Maine – along with Arizona – has provided a working model for public financing, the state’s system is struggling under the constraints of its own success. With several potential gubernatorial candidates saying they will seek public financing in 2006, a funding shortfall is predicted. And a scandal involving alleged “sham’ candidates has injured the program’s reputation.

Nonetheless, the law remains popular and more and more candidates are opting for public financing. The law balances the playing field for candidates who lack the connections or wealth to finance their campaigns. It invites new ideas into the debate and reduces the role of big money in choosing the state’s political leaders.

Congratulations to Connecticut for seeing the light and joining the campaign reform bandwagon.