The sun will shine a little brighter on the process by which state lawmakers consider requests for funding by nonprofit groups.

Tomorrow and again on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the State Capitol auditorium, public hearings will be held to discuss the applications of nonprofit groups, who have requested more than $150 million in public money.

It's a long overdue step toward transparency and accountability by those elected to safeguard the public purse.

And it behooves the public to get involved: For the first time in recent memory, an ordinary citizen can attend a hearing and observe some of the 250 applicants make their case for financial help.

And while public testimony won't be taken at the hearings, for the first time the applications are online, at www.capitol.hawaii.gov, and anyone can comment on them via e-mail.

The hearings and online services are among actions taken by lawmakers this session in response to a series of stories last year by Advertiser reporter Rob Perez, which disclosed a shocking laxity in the state's oversight of charities, and the unusually closed and loosely regulated system by which charities requested and received some $200 million over the past five years.

Open access to the process is the first step. Now the Legislature and administration must take the next one: Adopt more systematic and goal-oriented procedures for evaluating requests to match public priorities and needs. And this, too, should be done in full public view.