Gov. Linda Lingle told state lawmakers yesterday she may veto a bill that would develop a program of loan repayments and other incentives for doctors and dentists to practice on the Neighbor Islands and in underserved urban areas.

The Hawai'i Health Corps idea was the only proposal that survived last session to address the shortage of doctors in portions of the state. The program could provide loan repayments over five years for up to 100 doctors, with a priority on graduates of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Lawmakers passed the bill after rejecting medical-malpractice liability reform, which the Hawaii Medical Association, the Lingle administration and many Republicans argue would have encouraged more doctors to practice in rural and underserved areas.

The Lingle administration said yesterday that loan repayments and other incentives raise fiscal concerns about whether the state could sustain the Hawai'i Health Corps now or in the future.

The Republican governor gave majority Democrats a list of 52 bills she may veto and asked the public for input. Under state law, the governor has 10 working days after giving her potential veto notice — or until July 8 — to make final decisions on bills passed near the end of last session.

Lawmakers could return for a one-day veto override session but state House and Senate leaders said yesterday that was unlikely. Senate Democrats will caucus privately tomorrow and House Democrats will meet on Thursday to discuss the bills on the governor's list.

The bills include a proposal to create an Early Learning Council to oversee an early childhood education system called Keiki First Steps. The administration has opposed placing the council under the state Department of Education, preferring it be under the state Department of Human Services, and yesterday raised the issue of future costs.

ASSORTMENT OF BILLS

Another bill would establish a commission — similar in concept to the federal military base closure commission — to review whether public schools should be consolidated or closed. Some parents and school administrators are worried the commission would target smaller schools that, while important to communities, have declining enrollment.

Lingle also may veto a bill, favored by environmentalists, that would allow homeowners to use clotheslines to dry clothes after washing. The administration said the bill potentially invalidates the rules of homeowners associations.

The governor has targeted a bill that would expand an inspection fee for invasive species to all cargo entering the state, which the administration believes may raise costs for consumers. She also may reject a bill that would raise the surcharges for traffic violations to help cover trauma care. She described another bill that would require cigarettes sold in the state to be fire safe as an unfunded mandate on the state Fire Council.

Lingle described a bill that would provide $100,000 to develop a plan to return female inmates serving prison sentences on the Mainland as unrealistic without a costly expansion of state facilities.

The governor, repeating earlier criticism from Republican lawmakers, may veto a bill that would allow permanent absentee voting because of what the administration believes are a lack of safeguards against voter fraud.

And Lingle may veto a bill that would set up a task force to study issues surrounding medical marijuana because it could potentially counter federal prohibitions against the drug.

"The Legislature and many individuals in the community worked hard to pass these measures; however, it is my responsibility as governor to ensure that the bills are legal, constitutional, fiscally sound, and in the best long-term interest of the public," Lingle said in a statement.

EXCLUSIONS JUMP OUT

House and Senate leaders said they were struck by what was left off Lingle's potential veto list.

Many thought Lingle might veto a bill creating incentives for protecting important agricultural land after environmentalists complained it would allow landowners to convert up to 15 percent of their property for housing and other development. A bill requiring solar water heaters in all new homes starting in 2010 was also thought to be in jeopardy. Some in the solar industry questioned whether a mandate was the best approach and developers have warned about higher home building costs.

"Actually what jumped out at me more than anything else is what isn't on the list," said state Senate President Colleen Hana-busa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha).

Hanabusa said she wants to review several workers' compensation bills that are on the list and talk with other senators about their reactions to the list before deciding on an override session. She said lawmakers could wait until the next session in January to draft new versions of any bills the governor vetoes.

State House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said lawmakers are pleased that some of the bills they considered achievements for the session escaped the veto list.

"We're pleased to see she didn't give a notice of intent to veto the important ag lands or the solar bill," he said. "We consider that strong steps in the right direction on both those bills, even though we recognize they are highly controversial."

But Caldwell questioned why Lingle might veto the incentives for luring doctors to the Neighbor Islands and underserved urban areas and separate bills relating to adult caregiving.

Lingle also may veto a bill favored by House leaders that would create a framework for interisland airline regulation if the state receives an exemption from the federal government's deregulation law. Lawmakers quickly advanced the bill in response to the closure of Aloha Airlines and ATA and wanted to start a discussion about regulation.

If Lingle follows through with most of the vetoes on her list, combined with the 13 vetoes she issued during session, it would be the highest number of vetoes for any session since she took office.