The Office of Hawaiian Affairs voted yesterday to approve an agreement with the state that will net a 50 percent increase in annual payments to the agency to $15.1 million.

The vote by OHA's board of trustees was 8-0 with one abstention.

They were deciding on whether to accept a partial settlement in a dispute over how much money the agency deserves from lands that belonged to the former Hawaiian kingdom. About 1.4 million acres, or 95 percent of all state land, is former crown land held in trust by the state.

The agreement now must be approved by the state Legislature before it is completed. The Legislature plans to take up the issue Feb. 22.

The deal also pays a one-time $17.5 million lump sum transfer to the state agency set up to help native Hawaiians for payments applied retroactively to 2001.