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Idaho ordered to pay more than $300,000 in transgender lawsuit

The federal government ruled in 2018 that preventing people from amending their birth certificate was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the constitution.

BOISE, Idaho —

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article contained content from another media outlet and was not correctly attributed. That content has been removed and this article has been updated with information KTVB has independently confirmed.

Since replenishing the Constitutional Defense Fund this past legislative session, Idaho could soon see another major withdrawal of cash in the coming weeks. 

In June, a federal judge ordered the state to pay more than $321 thousand dollars in legal fees after a lawsuit over an anti-transgender bill. 

The law was signed into law by Governor Brad Little back in 2020, which would have made it illegal for transgender people to change the sex marker on their birth certificates. 

That June, a judge ruled in favor of the lawsuit, agreeing the law violated another court order from 2018. Therefore, the 2020 law would not be enforceable. 

This story was first reported by Ruth Brown of Idaho’s Public television Idaho Reports. KTVB received the letter sent from the Attorney General’s office to the Board of Examiners, who decide who gets paid and when. They said they need to pay the plaintiffs. 

They actually asked for more than $447 thousand dollars, but the judge only awarded them the $321 thousand dollars plus interest to pay for attorney fees and other costs. 

On Tuesday, a subcommittee approved the recommendation to make the payment, but now it has to be reviewed by the entire board next week. 

That Board of Examiners consists of the governor, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the State Controller. 

However, that does not mean they will just cut the check. According to the State Controller's office, it then must be decided by the legislature how that money will be paid. 

Either through a supplemental budget request, or through the Constitutional Defense Fund, which would not happen until next year. 

Since its inception in 1995, the Constitutional Defense Fund has paid out well over $3 million dollars to cover the cost of Idaho passing questionable laws. 

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