A lawsuit filed by five Hawaiians claims that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is illegally spending dollars reserved for the benefit of those with 50 percent Hawaiian blood or more.

All nine OHA trustees as well as two former trustees are named in the suit, which states that they "expended trust funds without regard to the blood quantum contained in the definition of native Hawaiians" as spelled out in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court.

OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o said he wanted to discuss the points of the litigation with attorneys to determine whether the case has merit. He declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit until then.

The trustees, the lawsuit said, have spent trust funds in lobbying Congress for passage of the Akaka bill, which seeks to create a government entity that would represent all with Hawaiian blood regardless of their quantum. Additionally, the trustees have "expended trust funds for all-expense-paid vacations and political junkets for themselves and their staff in the guise of lobbying for passage of the Akaka bill," the lawsuit said.

OHA trustees have previously stated that they have spent at least $1 million lobbying for the Akaka bill.

The lawsuit also challenged OHA's funding of the nonprofit Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. and Na Pua No'eau Education Program, saying it goes beyond what is allowed in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, language that was later incorporated into the state constitution.

Attorney Walter Schoettle said lobbying for the Akaka bill was a clear example of illegal spending because the legislation gives a "diluted, open-ended and constitutionally overbroad definition of 'Native Hawaiian.' "

Under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, money generated by the so-called ceded lands — former Hawaiian crown and government lands — is supposed to benefit those with 50 percent blood quantum.

A federal appeals court last month upheld OHA's spending of ceded land revenues, but found constitutional problems with the agency's race-based use of state tax revenues from the general fund.

Currently, about 10 percent of OHA's $28.5 million in funding comes from state taxes, with the rest from ceded lands.

According to OHA's own Web site: "The mix of trust funds, earmarked for Hawaiians of at least 50 percent blood quantum, and general funds, provided annually by the Legislature, allows OHA to serve Hawaiians of any blood quantum."

Namu'o said yesterday that it would be difficult to guess exactly how much of ceded land revenues are used to benefit those with less than 50 percent Hawaiian blood. "I'd need to do the research first," he said.

Asked what percentage of OHA's funding he believes is being spent illegally, Schoettle replied: "That's what we're going to find out. They don't exactly keep very good track. It's all mixed up."

Schoettle said his clients are beneficiaries of OHA and each is at least 50 percent Hawaiian.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.