Topeka ? Without debate Wednesday, the House tentatively approved a bill designed to allow individuals and organizations to recover more of their expenses when they sue for access to public records.

The House’s voice vote advanced the measure to final action, which is expected Thursday. Passage then would send the bill to the Senate.

The bill addresses a 2003 state Supreme Court decision in a lawsuit filed by The Garden City Telegram against the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The Supreme Court said that even when a state or local agency acts in bad faith in denying access to records, the person or organization suing that agency can recover only the legal expenses incurred before the lawsuit was filed. The bill would allow recovery of expenses incurred as a case proceeds through district court and on appeal.

In 1998, The Telegram sued the Transportation Department after the agency refused to provide safety rankings for railroad crossings in Finney County. A Shawnee County judge ruled in 2000 the denial was in bad faith.

A year later, the judge awarded the newspaper $13,000 to cover its costs. The department appealed, and ultimately, The Telegram was awarded about $1,400.