Topeka ? Senate leaders pledged Thursday that a committee will consider a House-passed bill to strengthen the Kansas Open Records Act, a day after one leader said the measure probably would not receive a vote.

The bill, approved 123-2 by the House two weeks ago, clarifies sections of the law to open more records to the public.

Attorneys for the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University have expressed concerns about how the bill would affect personnel records.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Vratil said Wednesday he had no plans to have a hearing or vote on the measure, meaning it would die at the end of the session.

But Senate President Dave Kerr said Thursday he wants to find a compromise. He discussed the records bill with about 40 reporters, editors and newspaper publishers who gathered in Topeka for the annual Day at the Legislature program sponsored by The Associated Press and the Kansas Press Association.

“We will have a hearing on the bill,” said Kerr, R-Hutchinson. “Hopefully we can work that out and bring it forward.”

Vratil, R-Leawood, said later Thursday that his view of the bill had changed and that it would be considered next week.

“It’s been a beehive of activity,” Vratil said.

The House bill resulted from negotiations among the press association, the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, school boards, teachers unions and the attorney general’s office.

Legislators in 2000 amended the open records act to eliminate all exemptions unless lawmakers decide by July 2005 to preserve them. The law generally requires government records to be kept open to the public but contains 46 exemptions.

The bill tightens some of those exemptions.

For example, current law lets government agencies close documents that discuss an individual’s qualifications for a job. The bill says that such records must remain open if they relate to someone who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective office.

The Open Records Act also classifies government employees’ salaries as public records. The bill expands that requirement to cover all compensation and employment contracts.

“It has some good gains for openness in government,” said Rep. Jene Vickrey, R-Louisburg, chairman of the House Local Government Committee.

In November, the university attorneys circulated a letter saying the open records law has always recognized “that employees in state service should be afforded some privacy.”

Vratil had said Wednesday that his committee has a policy of not acting on legislation that would affect pending lawsuits. He noted that The Lawrence Journal-World and cable television’s 6News sued the University of Kansas this year over its refusal to release Athletic Director Lew Perkins’ compensation package.

On Thursday, however, Vratil said the bill could probably be amended “to avoid a conflict.”

Open records is HB 2889.

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