State officials must pay more than $197,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska after the group successfully challenged a ban on same-sex couples serving as foster parents.

The payment request presented to a legislative committee on Monday would reimburse the ACLU of Nebraska for attorney fees and costs generated during the case.

The ACLU of Nebraska filed the lawsuit in 2013 on behalf of three same-sex couples. The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered the payment and slammed the 1995 policy, which included an online posting that "heterosexuals only" need apply to be foster parents.

State attorneys argued that the Department of Health and Human Services had quietly stopped enforcing the ban in 2012, making the matter moot.

Lawmakers have to formally approve the payment because it exceeds $50,000.