'Wasteful': Kansas Gov. Office responds to AG gender marker lawsuit

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly's Office has responded to Attorney General Kris Kobach's efforts to block transgender residents from changing their sex on driver's licenses.

The Republican attorney general of Kansas filed a lawsuit in Shawnee County District Court on Friday, rebuking the Democratic governor for defying his interpretation of a new law.

Brianna Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Governor's Office sent the following statement to Kansas Capitol Bureau on Friday.

“While the Attorney General has a well-documented record of wasteful and political lawsuits, Governor Kelly is faithfully executing the laws of the state and has directed her administration to as well. We look forward to the Kansas Department of Revenue being able to present its case in court.”

Brianna Johnson, Director of Communications for the Governor's Office

This comes as a new law, SB 180, which defines biological sex went into effect this month.

The law defines biological sex in areas like restrooms, locker rooms, prisons, and domestic violence centers. However, Kobach issued a legal opinion last week, stating that the new law would also prevent state agencies from changing gender markers on birth certificates and driver's licenses.

He held a press conference on his legal opinion, after filing a motion requesting that the state no longer follow a 2019 consent decree from a federal judge, requiring gender markers to be changed on birth certificates in Kansas.

Kobach spoke about his efforts to block gender marker changes on state records on Topeka political show "Inside Kansas Politics," which aired Sunday. He argued that the governor is defying the law, despite opposing opinions from the administration's legal counsel.

"... This is one where the law is crystal clear. And we all saw it in the last few months. The debates in the legislature were very clear. They wanted to make sure that these state documents reflect biological sex and are not subject to change based on a person’s desire to transition their genders," Kobach said.