There's some good news out of the state Capitol this week. Legislators opted to drop a last-minute proposal that had threatened the passage of a sensible bill for a pilot project for publicly funded elections on the Big Island.

The pilot project is an effort to curb the influence large donors have on elected officials, and should go forward.

Encouragingly, lawmakers pulled from the bill an add-on proposal to clarify limits on corporate contributions. That proposal simply was not in sync with the publicly funded elections bill; blending the distinctly different goals in the same bill made little sense.

The corporate contributions limits rightly should be taken up at another point, through a more appropriate vehicle.

The way is now clear for legislators to enable the pilot project: Beginning in 2010, each candidate would have to collect $5 contributions from at least 200 registered voters in the district to qualify for public financing.

Public financing, with appropriate caps, would help level the playing field between its recipients and candidates backed by private donors.

On O'ahu, elected leaders and community groups should watch closely to see how to replicate the plan here.

Given Hawai'i's dismal voter turnout, finding smart ways to encourage public participation and confidence in our elections is something we should all get behind.