Topeka ? A bill strengthening the Kansas Open Records Act won final legislative approval Monday and now heads to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

The Senate passed the measure on a 21-13 vote with six abstentions. Some senators complained that their chamber did not adequately review the bill, which had won unanimous House passage on Saturday.

The bill clarifies and narrows existing law on what public records can be closed to the public. It also provides for attorneys’ fees to be granted in some cases where an agency has denied access to public records in bad faith.

“I think it’s substantial,” said Richard Gannon, a former state senator who now lobbies for the Kansas Press Association. “There are some improvements.”

The legislation reflects recommendations by media groups, the attorney general’s office and governmental bodies whose ideas were sought last year by a legislative panel studying exemptions to the Open Records Act.

“It will further open records to the public while protecting the privacy rights of individuals and businesses,” said Don Moler, a lobbyist for the League of Kansas Municipalities.

All existing exemptions to the Open Records Act were to expire in July 2005 unless the Legislature re-enacted them. If Sebelius signs the measure, most existing exemptions are preserved, though some have been tightened.

“We’ve not talked a lot about this one,” Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said after the Senate voted. “She will carefully review it once it gets to her desk.”