Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday she may veto a bill that would provide $3 million over two years to improve pedestrian safety at some of the state's most dangerous intersections, citing financial concerns in the state's highway fund.

The governor said the highway fund, used to pay for road projects, is being depleted and that there is separate money in state Department of Transportation's budget that can be used for better signs and crosswalk markings to help pedestrians.

"I'm really concerned about this issue," Lingle told reporters at a news conference at the state Capitol. "But to take money out of the highway fund at this time when the traffic issues are looming so large with people was a concern."

The veto warning stunned AARP Hawai'i and some state lawmakers, who have made pedestrian safety a priority after 12 pedestrian fatalities on O'ahu this year.

"This has been something the community has fought long and hard for," said Barbara Kim Stanton, state director of AARP Hawai'i. "We are not planning to give up."

Lingle identified 33 bills yesterday she could potentially veto by July 10, the deadline this year under state law. The governor is required by law to notify lawmakers — who are not in session — of potential vetoes 10 days before the deadline so they can decide whether to come back on July 10 for a one-day veto override session.

Bills that are not signed or vetoed by the deadline automatically become law.

State House and Senate leaders said yesterday they will decide over the next few days whether to hold an override session.

Along with the pedestrian safety money — which Lingle said was a difficult decision, given that she testified in favor of the bill in an earlier draft — the governor highlighted several health-related bills.

Lingle said the state would try to improve access to mental healthcare in rural or underserved urban areas rather than allow psychologists to prescribe a limited formulary of drugs to patients at federally qualified health centers. Psychologists have sought prescribing rights for more than two decades but have been opposed by psychiatrists, who say psychologists lack the necessary medical background.

Lingle said she would likely veto a bill that would grant immunity from prosecution to people who leave newborns at hospitals, or police or fire stations, within 72 hours of birth. The governor said the bill does not protect the rights of both parents or of extended family members, and that anonymously abandoning babies could later complicate genealogy for Native Hawaiians who apply for Hawaiian homestead land or admittance into Kamehameha Schools.

Hawai'i is one of three states without a so-called "safe haven" law, and the issue has received national attention through "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Lingle said several states allow for an affirmative defense in court for child endangerment or neglect for people who drop off newborns rather than full immunity from prosecution.

National advocates for safe haven laws, and three state House Republicans, have asked Lingle to sign the bill. "From her veto message, it looks like she's missing the point of giving parents a chance to save a baby," said state Rep. John Mizuno, D-30th (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter.)

Lingle said she would let a bill that creates more regional autonomy in the Health Systems Corp., the state's quasi-public hospital system, become law. The governor said it had been one of the most difficult bills she considered because the newly empowered regional affiliates would be exempt from state procurement law and could compete with each other for resources and undercut the statewide system.

The pedestrian safety money was approved by lawmakers after several pedestrian fatalities and an aggressive campaign by police to ticket drivers and pedestrians who violate traffic safety laws. The 12 pedestrian fatalities on O'ahu this year are two more than the 10 fatalities at this time last year.

The bill requires the state to work with counties and AARP Hawai'i to lengthen crossing times at traffic signals and install countdown timers at more signals, with the most dangerous intersections first.

Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy adviser, said money in the highway fund is expected to drop from about $92 million this year to about $37 million in 2009. The highway fund is leveraged with federal money — at an 80 percent to 20 percent federal-to-state match — to pay for road projects.

Smith said there is about a $3.5 million pool of money in the Department of Transportation's budget that can be tapped for crosswalk signs, markers and sidewalk repairs without dipping into the highway fund.

But state Sen. Rosalyn Baker, D-5th (W. Maui, S. Maui), said lawmakers approved a separate 1-cent increase in the gasoline license tax that would provide about $14 million to the highway fund, so the fund can be partially replenished. "To me, it's a faux pas on Lingle's part because this is something that has broad community support," Baker said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.