The public should be applauding the efforts of Gov. Bob Riley in his quest to bring more transparency to state government. And when the clapping is done, they ought to use their hands to help him steady the three-legged stool he rightly reasons is necessary to move the state forward.

Education is moving forward. So is economic development. But ethics and self-serving, rather than public serving politics is impeding complete progress.

And Riley thinks that’s wrong. In a step toward more transparency, he announced Wednesday that all state financial records will be searchable online beginning Oct. 1. That is a significant move toward accounting for how taxpayer money is spent.

Everything from salaries of K-12 and two-year and four-year colleges and universities to state issued checks, leases and contracts associated with a specific name will be available online.

It is a shame that on the same day Riley made his announcement, an oversight commission on millions of dollars of legislative grants failed to adopt new rules that would have posted those grants on the Internet.

But it is the same failure to comply with the public’s right to know that holds the state back.

Gov. Riley described Alabama’s situation as a three-legged stool, saying that third leg — the ethics code — is wobbly at best. He vowed to push for rewriting it in the next legislative session, and he needs support from those who stand to gain the most — the public.

Transparency in government, not backroom deals and hidden grant recipients, are a must to have Alabama emerge as a leader among states instead of lagging woefully behind.

It is time for ethics reform. And the public needs to have a hand in pushing it.