Some opponents of the Akaka bill are calling for a statewide referendum or poll to gauge Hawai'i residents' reaction to the measure before Congress acts on it.

But supporters say Hawai'i voters may get a chance to express their views when the bill is implemented.

The issue of whether there should be a referendum has been raised by opponents, including Richard Rowland, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i, which has focused on tax increases and other conservative causes in the past.

Rowland yesterday likened the poll to the vote taken by Hawai'i residents approving statehood in 1959.

"We think democracy has stood on its head," he said about Gov. Linda Lingle and others going to Washington, D.C., to support the bill when it has not been put up to a vote by Hawai'i residents.

"We need to ask the people of Hawai'i what they think," he said.

But supporters say a referendum would postpone the vote by the Senate on a measure that's been pending before Congress for years.

The bill would provide Native Hawaiians the same recognition granted to American Indians and Alaska Natives, but does not automatically set up any referendum for Hawai'i voters on whether the measure itself is valid.

But U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, said he believes that Hawai'i voters may get a chance to weigh in on the legislation, if it turns out state constitutional amendments are needed when the bill becomes law. The amendments may be necessary as part of setting up a government entity that would allow Native Hawaiians to be treated the same as other Native American groups, his spokeswoman, Donalyn Dela Cruz, said yesterday.

The example Akaka has cited in the past is that a state constitutional amendment would be required if the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands were to become part of the governing body.

A state constitutional amendment would require the approval of state lawmakers to place the measure on the ballot. The amendment would be ratified only if it receives approval by more than 50 percent of all votes cast by Hawai'i residents.