HONOLULU — Gov. Linda Lingle will make a decision on the contentious civil unions proposal after she returns from a two-week-long working trip to China and Japan.

Lingle also said Tuesday at a press conference that her recent meetings with advocates and opponents of HB 444 reinforced for her how deeply the emotions are on both sides.

She cited two rabbis in Hawaii to whom she is close. One favors the legislation; the other opposes it.

Lingle has until June 21 to announce the measures she may veto, and she then has until July 6 to veto those bills if that is the action she chooses. Measures not on the June 21 list would become law, either with or without her signature.

Her trip begins Friday and she is due to return June 19.