Gov. Linda Lingle says she is unhappy that Democratic Sen. Daniel Akaka removed a provision from his Native Hawaiian recognition bill that would ban gambling by the governing entity the measure would create.

Akaka introduced the legislation this week in hopes that it finally will pass Congress and be signed by a president who was reared in Hawaii.

But one change he made from past Senate versions was to remove language that bars gaming.

Lingle says she asked for that provision in previous bills and supported those measures.

She says she will talk with Akaka about the latest change when she is in Washington, D.C. in two weeks. But she demurs when asked if she will oppose the bill if a gambling ban is not reinstated.