Same-sex marriage cases have cost Kansans $100,000

Legal battles over same-sex marriage have cost Kansas taxpayers nearly $100,000 since 2013, according to expense records from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.

That amount does not include state staff time.

The state has spent nearly $50,000 defending Kansas’ same-sex marriage ban against a pair of lawsuits.

One case involves an Alma couple who married in California and sued the Kansas Department of Revenue in December 2013 for the right to file their taxes jointly. That case has cost Kansas taxpayers $45,271.

Another case is the federal lawsuit filed in October by the ACLU on behalf of two lesbian couples, which prompted a federal judge to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in November.

The case remains pending after the state appealed; it also concerns whether state agencies will change their policies to recognize same-sex couples. The state has spent $4,433 in this case for travel, postage, filing fees and transcripts. The case is being handled by staff attorneys at the Attorney General’s Office.

The state also paid $50,000 for a lawsuit it brought against Johnson County Chief Judge Kevin Moriarty, who ordered court clerks to issue same-sex marriage licenses in October. Since Moriarty is a public official, the money to pay for his defense came from state coffers even though he was being sued by the state.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt withdrew the case against Moriarty this week after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Same-sex marriage cases have cost Kansans $100,000."