WASHINGTON — With new Democratic majorities in Congress next year, the Akaka bill may have its best chance yet of passing in the Senate, where conservative Republicans have blocked it for years.

Sen. Dan Akaka, D-Hawai'i, the bill's chief sponsor, said he is optimistic that what is officially called the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act will get a debate and vote in the Senate that convenes in January.

After Tuesday's election, Akaka said, "With what has happened in this country and to the U.S. Senate and Congress, there is, of course, a better opportunity for the passage of the Akaka bill."

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, also said chances of Senate passage "have been improved" by the election outcome.

"We will bring it up, most certainly," said Inouye, who is expected to chair the Senate Commerce Committee next year.

Akaka, who is expected to be chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee next year, said he would like to make another attempt to move the bill through the Senate "as soon as we can," possibly February or March. But he noted that the timeline would depend on Congress dealing first with other matters, such as spending bills for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The Akaka bill, which was first proposed six years ago, would establish a process that could lead to establishment of a Native Hawaiian entity recognized by the federal government. Supporters also believe it would help stave off legal challenges against millions of dollars that go to programs that give preference to Hawaiians.

Some opponents, including the Bush administration, believe such legislation discriminates against non-Hawaiians. On the other end of the spectrum, some Hawaiian groups feel the bill does not go far enough in addressing their issues with the United States.

When supporters made an effort in June to break the Republican procedural block keeping the bill from Senate consideration, Democrats united behind it and had the support of 13 Republicans. But that was only 56 of the 60 votes needed to overcome the roadblock, with 41 Republicans voting to maintain it.

But that outcome could change with a Democratic majority.

Democrats, with two cooperating independents, will control 51 seats in Senate next year.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is expected to become the Senate majority leader next year, has backed the bill in the past and could put it on the agenda at any time.

All 13 Republican senators who supported a debate and a vote in June are returning, although one — Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. — is expected to oppose the bill if it comes up again.

The bill may get support from all the Democrats and independents along with 12 Republicans. That would total 63 votes — three more than would be needed to bring the bill to the Senate floor over Republican objections.

Michael McDonald, assistant government and politics professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., said that the by-the-numbers scenario indicates that the bill's chances of passage in the new Senate are better than they have been in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Supporters have reached "the magic number," McDonald said.

With the new Congress, the bill also will have to be reintroduced, but Akaka said he is not inclined to make any changes.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm looking at it the way it is," he said, noting, however, that the latest draft does come with proposed changes designed to overcome Bush administration objections.

Among the changes is a provision that would bar Hawaiians from filing claims in court against the United States and the state after negotiations with the governing entity. Another change would exempt the military from participating in discussions dealing with the creation of a Native Hawaiian government, effectively ensuring military installations and operations are not affected. Another change would make clear that the state and federal governments would retain civil and criminal jurisdiction over all lands and people in Hawai'i.

But the proposed changes did not help in June, when the Bush administration announced it opposed the Akaka bill but stopped short of threatening a veto. In the Senate, 67 votes would be needed to override a veto.

Optimism over the bill's prospects in Washington is drawing mixed reaction from opponents and supporters in Hawai'i.

"We, of course, are more hopeful with the Democrats in control of the House and Senate," said Clyde Namu'o, administrator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

OHA has spent an average of about $700,000 a year in legal and lobbying fees supporting the bill.

For OHA trustees and other Akaka bill supporters, the issue is not only about federal recognition for a Hawaiian government entity, but staving off legal challenges made to what some have estimated at an annual $70 million in federal funding for programs that primarily benefit Hawaiians.

Namu'o said the board will need to decide whether it will continue spending time and money on that effort. "That's still on the table," Namu'o said.

All nine OHA board members backed the bill, and new member Walter Heen also supports it.

Namu'o said he would also like the Senate to consider amending the bill so that it would essentially include all who can prove they are Hawaiian. The bill now limits recognition to those who can trace their lineage to 1893, the date of the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani, or the 1921 enactment of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

Kau Inoa, a program originated by OHA that registers Hawaiians, allows all Hawaiians to sign up. Namu'o said that nearly 57,000 have enlisted since the effort began in 2004.

"That would be such a loss — not to use that list of registrants to begin the Akaka bill process," Namu'o said.

Hui Pu, an umbrella group for Native Hawaiian organizations opposed to the bill, is organizing a gathering of groups at the end of the month to discuss the future of the sovereignty movement. Ikaika Hussey, a spokesman for the group, said he is not certain that the bill will get a hearing simply because Democrats have taken over.

"The Senate has been called the most exclusive country club in the United States and it's anyone's guess what happens," Hussey said. "With such a distance between the senators and the people, it's impossible to say."

He said he believes that before a vote, the Senate should hold public hearings across Hawai'i. "That's the minimum requirement in a democracy, that people have a chance to speak on legislation that affects us directly."

Akaka said there is not a pressing need to hold hearings in Hawai'i because the bill is essentially the same as it was when hearings were held at the State Capitol in the summer of 2000.

Citing the changes made to appease the Bush administration this year, Hussey said, "The fact is the bill is substantially worse."

Members of the nonprofit Aloha For All oppose the bill because they contend benefits should not be bestowed on one racial group at the expense of others.

H. William Burgess, a spokesman for the group, said he's not convinced a Democratic majority will ease the road to passing the bill.

"I'm sure the proponents of the bill from here would think it's a different picture, but I wouldn't agree with that," Burgess said. "Democrats have no more interest in partitioning states into racial enclaves than Republicans do." He added, "I don't think it's a Republican issue or a Democratic issue, it's a question of whether the United States is composed of indestructible states."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com and Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.