LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska attorney general’s decision not to prosecute alleged liquor law violations in Whiteclay will save the state an estimated $50,000 in legal fees.

The savings were disclosed in Gov. Pete Ricketts proposed budget released Wednesday.

The attorney general’s office announced in October it would drop charges against the village’s four stores in northwest Nebraska because they had already lost their liquor licenses. Authorities had accused the stores of violations including selling to bootleggers and failing to cooperate with investigators.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission originally requested the money to pay an attorney who had done most of the legal work on the case but was no longer employed by the state. The decision not to prosecute made his services unnecessary.

State regulators effectively closed the stores in April when they voted not to renew their licenses.