State Rep. Rida Cabanilla says she was standing up for her community when she sought a grant-in-aid from the state Legislature so the Ewa Historical Society could restore the dilapidated Ewa Plantation Cemetery, where plantation workers are buried.

But many of her fellow lawmakers who approved the $100,000 grant on Tuesday were not aware that Cabanilla essentially controls the Ewa Historical Society. Cabanilla’s son — who is also her office manager — was listed as the nonprofit’s vice president in the grant application, and Cabanilla and two of her legislative aides were listed as serving on the four-member board of directors.

Cabanilla explained on Wednesday that she put her name and those of her staff on the application when it was filed after she could not find enough people in the community to volunteer. The representative has been involved with the Ewa Historical Society for several years.

She was, for example, the one who signed the nonprofit’s latest publicly available tax filing — for 2009 — as chairwoman of the board of directors.

"I put in the (grant) request. And I did not hide anything. My name is on the application," said Cabanilla (D, Ewa Beach-West Loch Estates), the House majority floor leader, insisting she was "completely transparent."

Cabanilla voted for the state budget on Tuesday — which contains $10 million in grants, including the $100,000 for the Ewa Historical Society — but did not publicly disclose her close ties to the nonprofit or ask House leaders whether she had a potential conflict before the vote.

Cabanilla had also asked Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) to help get the grant through the Senate, which he did — and voted on — without knowing Cabanilla was behind the nonprofit.

"From my perspective, the funding for maintenance of the cemetery is something that is sorely needed because volunteers have been taking care of the cemetery," Espero said. "However, it had not been consistent. Many people in the district feel like the cemetery should be properly cared for. From the perspective of the Ewa Historical Society, I had no knowledge of who the principals and the directors and the individuals involved in it were."

The state’s conflict-of-interest law generally does not apply to lawmakers, but internal House and Senate rules urge lawmakers to disclose potential conflicts.

Competition among nonprofits and other community groups for grants is often fierce. This year, lawmakers received more than 230 applications for $147 million worth of grants, yet approved only 55 grants for $10 million because of budget constraints.

"This is a situation where a representative really wanted to help her community. And she exhausted all options and finally took matters into her own hands," said House Majority Leader Scott Saiki (D, Downtown-Kakaako-McCully). "There probably could have been better disclosure. But at this point, I believe that she will work to rectify this by removing herself from that organization."

Cabanilla said she would again reach out to the community to get other people involved in the Ewa Historical Society. She acknowledged that there could be a negative perception that the nonprofit was awarded the grant because of her influence as a lawmaker while many others were rejected.

"There is that perception. I acknowledge that that is a valid perception," she said. "However, we did not violate any law, because it’s all transparent."

The Ewa Historical Society had initially asked the Legislature for $200,000 as seed money for restoration and historic preservation in Ewa Villages, where many plantation workers lived and died. The request was for the repair and upkeep of the Ewa Plantation Cemetery, where grass is overgrown and grave markers have been displaced.

The grant application said that since the cemetery — which is on city land — was closed for burials in 1976, maintenance has been handled by volunteers. The grant request described the need for groundskeepers and landscapers and equipment such as string trimmers, lawn mowers, gasoline and truck rentals.

"I have nothing to gain," Cabanilla said. "I’m just providing leadership."