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PHOENIX — Under pressure from state lawmakers, Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she is now willing to consider spending state tax dollars to expand the presence of the National Guard along the border.

But she said it would be on her terms — and her timetable.

The governor's stance comes as legislators are preparing to send her a measure to force her to deploy the Guard as a necessary part of the border emergency she declared last year. That legislation, which awaits a vote of the full Senate, includes $10 million to cover the costs.

Napolitano suggested Wednesday she would veto the bill, calling it an unconstitutional usurping of her authority as commander in chief of the state's National Guard. She said any decision to put more troops along the border ultimately has to be hers.

There already are about 150 Guard troops in what the governor has called a support role in Southern Arizona. Napolitano says she wants a greater presence. But until now, she has made that contingent on federal funding.

On Wednesday, though, Napolitano said she might not wait for that cash, which has yet to come.

"I will consider state funding for this," she said. Napolitano said that would not be a great leap "because we're already paying for Guard at the border."

The governor said there are things that troops could do.

"They can, as they are now, work on drug-trafficking cases," she said.

"They can also expand that to human-trafficking cases. they can monitor checkpoints," the governor continued. "They can monitor sensors, they can help transport, they can help with the construction and maintenance of the fencing we have at the border."

Napolitano said any work done by the Guard means work that doesn't have to be done by the Border Patrol.

"And they can spend their time doing their fundamental job, which is to catch people who are crossing illegally," she said.

But the governor bristled at the idea that the Legislature would direct her to station Guard troops in Southern Arizona — or that lawmakers believe they even have that power.

"It's like the U.S. Congress telling the president of the United States they're going to control the military," she said of the legislative proposal.

"It's not how separation of powers works," Napolitano said. "The governor is the commander in chief of the Guard."

Napolitano said if she does decide to put Guard troops along the border, there have to be "clear rules of engagement." She said while the troops officially would be there in a support role, they could come across drug dealers or others who are armed.

"This has to be done very carefully," she said.