While a debate over fiscal policy promises to dominate the coming legislative session, the need to repair the state's campaign finance laws must also be a high priority.

In 2014, candidates circumvented state law intended to keep special-interest money out of campaigns when candidates accept public money.

Using federal election law, contractors doing business with Connecticut were able to channel donations to help Gov. Dannel P. Malloy by writing the checks to the state Democratic Party. That approach dodged state law prohibiting candidates from directly accepting such donations.

Both major-party gubernatorial candidates also benefited from millions of dollars spent on the election by Super PACs.

So even though both Gov. Malloy and his Republican challenger, Tom Foley, received $6.5 million for their campaigns from the state's Citizens Election Program - donations intended to keep the corruptive influence of special-interest cash out - plenty of that special-interest money flowed into Connecticut.

Suggestions from Republican minority leaders in the House and Senate, and from the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC), provide a good starting point for discussions.

Republicans propose tightening up state law so that candidates cannot use the federal rules to access donations from state contractors. They also would return the limit that an individual can donate to a state party to $5,000. The Democratic majority pushed the limit up to $10,000 in advance of the 2014 election.

As for the parties themselves, they would face limits on how much they can direct to candidates, ranging from $3,500 for a House race to $250,000 for governor. Currently there are no limits, making it easier to use the state parties as a conduit for special-interest money.

Meanwhile, the SEEC is proposing legislation to prevent campaigns from coordinating strategy with PACs. During the state's 2014 election, more than $18 million in PAC money funneled into state campaigns.

Legally, there is supposed to be no coordination between PACs and campaigns, but it happens. By making it illegal for advisers to move back and forth between campaigns and PACS, the SEEC proposal would tighten the rules and make violations easier to prosecute.

The proposed SEEC changes would also prohibit a likely candidate from using a delayed candidacy announcement to skirt the regulations. Gov. Malloy helped raise money for the Democratic Governors Association before announcing his candidacy for re-election. The DGA then formed PAC Connecticut Forward to help re-elect the governor.

The General Assembly should embrace such reforms in bipartisan fashion.