Unable to reach agreement on the state budget by a midnight deadline, state House and Senate leaders set a new deadline of Monday morning to have finance-related bills ready for final votes before session ends.

Negotiators still hoped to close the budget and capital improvement project outlay by early today, but House and Senate leaders said it would be unfair to allow other bills to die because of an internal procedural deadline. Lawmakers will work over the weekend to craft language on bills that were awaiting budget approval.

"We believe that due to the delay in the passage of the budget, allowing these bills to die based on an internal procedural deadline is not in the best interests of the people of Hawaii," said state Senate President Shan Tsutsui (D, Wailuku-Kahului).

The Senate, meanwhile, gave final approval Friday night to a bill that would exempt 11 bridge rehabilitation proj­ects from a host of environmental and land-use regulations. The exemptions, which are valid for the proj­ects through June 2017, are intended to expedite repairs at bridges that are functionally obsolete or structurally deficient.

The Sierra Club Hawaii chapter has warned of legal challenges to the bill if it becomes law, which could delay construction on all of the bridges identified. Environmentalists have said the regulatory exemptions could threaten protections for streams and native culture.

Sen. J. Kalani English (D, East Maui-Lanai-Molokai) said the regulatory exemptions are temporary and meant to reduce layers of bureaucracy.

"This body, before me, created the environmental laws. So this body also has the right to change it, alter it, move it," said English, an advocate for the Hana Highway bridge preservation plan on Maui, which is among the proj­ects on the list.

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on a bill that would impose a provider fee on private hospitals and large nursing homes, allowing the state to draw millions in additional federal money to help cover the health care costs of the poor. Hospitals would pay about $42 million and get $77 million in payments in return. Nursing homes would pay about $11.5 million and get $21 million in return. The state would also lift a 3 percent cut in reimbursement payments to nursing homes, which would provide an additional $6 million.

The state Department of Human Services would take 7 percent of the provider fee on hospitals — or $2.8 million — and 12 percent on nursing homes — or about $1.3 million. Department officials had wanted a greater share of the provider fee on hospitals, but lawmakers sided with the hospitals.

"The hospital sustainability bill is a major victory in the effort to strengthen our hospitals and provide better care to the people of Hawaii, at the same time sending additional funds to the Department of Human Services without any additional cost to Hawaii’s taxpayers," state Sen. Josh Green (D, Milo­lii-Wai­mea), an emergency room doctor, said in an email. "The governor should sign this bill into law as quickly as possible so that our hospitals can receive federal funds that will improve patient care and access statewide."

Negotiators also agreed on a bill that would authorize Hawaii Health Systems Corp. to acquire the bankrupt and shuttered Hawaii Medical Center-East in Li­liha.

Lawmakers also found consensus on a civil unions measure that would address issues raised when the new law was implemented in January.

Those issues included a "gap period" resulting from language in the law requiring reciprocal beneficiary couples to dissolve that relationship prior to seeking a civil union — a process that can often take weeks. During that time the couple would be covered by neither a reciprocal beneficiary relationship nor a civil union, which could put benefits such as insurance coverage at risk.

Negotiators reached a compromise on a religious conscience exemption, which would absolve churches and religious organizations from liability if they deny the use of their facilities for a civil union.

The bill includes narrow language clearly defining that only facilities used for worship or ministry activities be covered and not property that would be considered public, said Rep. Gilbert Keith-Agaran (D, Kahu­lui-Paia).

Lawmakers also reached agreement on at least part of the Abercrombie administration’s Justice Reinvestment initiative — a data-driven approach to reforming the state’s criminal justice system by releasing low-risk inmates earlier and using the savings to fund treatment and supervision programs, victim services and more public safety staff.

One measure agreed upon by conferees allows for a sentence of probation for certain second-time drug convictions and probation sentences of four years for certain second- and third-degree felonies.

"This is a measure we’ve been working on for over eight months," said Sen. Will Espero, (D, Ewa-Hono­uli­uli-Ewa Beach). "This a measure that had the support of the administration, from the Judiciary as well as the state Legislature."

Some bills that stalled in conference committee could still be approved before session ends. Lawmakers could choose to agree to the latest versions of the bills.

For example, the Senate could sign off on the House version of a bill that would create the regulatory framework for an interisland electric transmission cable. The bill has been one of Abercrombie’s priorities for the session.