New Hampshire may well be on the road to Clean Elections public financing for their campaigns now that the Governor looks likely to sign into a law a bill creating a commission to study the feasibility of such a system.

New Hampshire is home to Clean Elections champion Granny D, who was in the Senate gallery when they voted to approve the bill. What's next for the New Hampshire project?

Rob Werner, a Concord city councilor and a member of Public Action, Clean Elections, said the study bill, HB 794, "has a very tight timeframe." The study panel is supposed to file its report by Dec. 1. Werner hopes a public financing bill will follow in 2009, so a system can be in place for 2010 elections.

The bill calls for three members of each major political party and one independent to sit on the panel. Speaker of the House Terie Norelli, Senate President Sylvia Larsen and Lynch each would name two people, and Secretary of State William Gardner would name the seventh after others are in place. None of the commissioner members can be in an elected state office or be a candidate for state office.

The panel can consider a variety of funding sources, including state general funds, contributions, donation of services and other public and private sources.