Topeka ? The Kansas attorney general’s office says legal disputes involving the state’s gay marriage ban have cost taxpayers nearly $100,000 over the past 18 months.

The figures released Thursday cover expenses from three lawsuits but not staff time for Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s employees.

Schmidt filed a petition in October with the Kansas Supreme Court to block county court clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Because Schmidt sued Johnson County’s chief judge, the state was required to pay $50,000 for the judge’s defense. Schmidt dropped the case Tuesday.

Kansas spent more than $45,000 in a still-pending state court lawsuit seeking to force the state to allow same-sex couples to file joint income tax returns.

Schmidt’s office reported $4,400 in expenses from a federal lawsuit challenging the gay marriage ban.