Gov. John Hickenlooper suggested Thursday he may veto two red-light camera bills sent to his desk in the final hours of the legislative session.

The controversial measures — one to ban red-light cameras and photo radar outright and another to put them to a local vote — are designed to call his bluff about his veto threat from earlier in the session.

Hickenlooper, in an unusual move for him, outlined his concerns about the bills in a letter to lawmakers as they moved through the chambers, setting clear parameters on what he would sign.

Now with the bills in his queue, the Democrat said he will review them, and “if it goes against the letter, certainly I will veto it.”

His remarks came a day after the General Assembly adjourned the 120-day term — one in which the governor played a prominent role in shaping legislation.

Hickenlooper touted bipartisan compromises on most of his legislative agenda, including the passage of a bill to make repeated drunken-driving offenses a felony, a measure to reduce student testing and more money for oil and gas inspectors.

Despite the focus on the fractured legislature, he said lawmakers “proved that having a split house doesn’t mean you have a divided Colorado.”

House Republican leader Brian DelGrosso said the governor managed to stay above the fray because the partisan split in the Democratic-led House and the Republican-majority Senate neutered most controversial measures.

“The reality is he doesn’t have to make a lot of tough decisions,” the Loveland lawmaker said.

The dynamic left major issues unresolved, and the governor lamented the failure of bills to limit lawsuits for faulty home construction, address the state’s budget knot and continue an award-winning program that provides long-acting contraception to women at little to no cost.

Hickenlooper said lawmakers were “tantalizingly close to finding a deal” on construction defects and Democratic and Republican legislative leaders vowed to revisit the issue in 2016.

House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst of Boulder said she will keep alive a Hickenlooper-endorsed plan to remove the fees paid by hospitals from state revenue collections to make room for more transportation and education funding within the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights spending limits.

“That’s one of the things I’m the most sorry about that did not pass out of the Senate,” the Boulder Democrat said. “We are facing a budget crisis without finding a way to address our revenues coming up against the TABOR cap.”

Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, has called it one of the worst ideas Democrats advanced this session.

On red-light cameras, the bills didn’t split along traditional party lines, and Republican and Democratic leaders suggest vetoes would only keep the issue alive for next year.

“I think this may be one area where the governor and the legislature disagree,” Hullinghorst said.

John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ByJohnFrank

Staff writers Lynn Bartels and Joey Bunch contributed to this report.

Hickenlooper’s agenda

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper debuted a legislative agenda in his State of the State address at the start of the session and built on it as the term continued, endorsing certain measures. Here’s a look at 10 of his biggest agenda items and how he fared.

Budget (SB 234) — Passed. The governor’s administration largely received what it requested but did not get three key priorities: $30 million for a college scholarship program, all 130 child welfare case workers and a $200 million one-time payment to school districts.

Felony DUI (HB 1043) — Passed. The governor made this a priority, and lawmakers credited him with helping to push it across the finish line after five years of attempts.

Ballot measures (HB 1057) — Passed. Hickenlooper had to convince Democratic and Republican skeptics to advance a requirement that citizen-initiated ballot measures include a fiscal impact statement from legislative council analysts.

Oil and gas task force (SB 234) — Passed. Hickenlooper’s oil and gas task force report recommended new regulators in two state agencies. Both were included in the budget process.

Testing (HB 1323) — Passed. The governor made his stance clear and fought to maintain a ninth-grade statewide assessment, much to the frustration of conservative Republican lawmakers. The final version is one he is likely to sign.

Economic development (SB 282) — Passed. To boost distressed rural economies, the governor backed a bill to offer tax incentives to new out-of-state companies that locate and create jobs in certain areas.

Hospital provider fee (HB 1389) — Failed. Part of a last-minute ask from the governor, this bill would have removed the hospital provider fee from the state revenue stream, lessening chance of TABOR rebates but adding money for transportation and education.

Construction defects (SB 177) — Failed. To help spur more condominium building, the governor supported a move to make it harder for homeowners to sue builders for construction defects.

Contraception program (HB 1194) — Failed. Hickenlooper’s administration sought $5 million to continue a grant-funded program that provides long-acting birth control to women at little to no cost.

PERA bonds (HB 1388) — Failed. The governor backed an effort to issue risky pension bonds to help shrink the state’s retirement fund shortfall. John Frank, The Denver Post