New Jersey's Clean Elections pilot project got a step closer towards improvement and expansion on Monday as it received approval from the Senate State Government Committee. The pilot project, first tried in 2005, has been improved and updated for the next election cycle and is awaiting passage by the State Senate and the signature of the Governor. Improvements include trying Clean Elections public financing in three districts, lower the number of qualifying contributions a candidate must receive to be eligible for public funding and set the contribution amount at $10 and allow for "partial" public financing for some qualified candidates. The new program will also include a $600,000 outlay to educate voters on the Clean Elections program. They're getting down to the wire on this, but sponsors and supporters seem optimistic about their chances.