The state and Office of Hawaiian Affairs are in discussions on an agreement to settle past due amounts owed to OHA from ceded lands payments.

The agreement, which would be subject to public meetings and legislative approval, would involve the state offering land in Kakaako to OHA.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the talks on the "agreement in principle" at a news conference today in his office with OHA Chairwoman Colette Machado.

Under terms of the settlement, the state and OHA would agree that $200 million represents a reasonable compromise to settle disputed claims, the governor’s office said in a news release. To satisfy the $200 million claim, the state is conveying "contiguous and adjacent parcels in Kakaako Makai" near Waterfront Park, including Fisherman’s Wharf. Land would continue to to remain under the authority of the Hawaii Communty Development Authority and will continue to be under HCDA’s rules and zoning.

In exchange, OHA will "release, waive and discharge and and all claims that it, and any other person or entity, might make to ceded lands receipts," the news release said.