Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday unveiled a new spending proposal that includes $128 million to renovate public housing projects, increase social services for the homeless and foster the future development of affordable homes.

The money is part of a two-year financial plan that includes a $20.78 billion state operating budget and $2.1 billion for construction.

While the details of Lingle's plans won't be revealed until next month when she submits her legislative package, her proposal offered broad outlines of the most ambitious housing package her administration ever has recommended.

Advocates for the homeless praised the proposal.

Darlene Hein, director of the Waikiki Health Center's Care-a-Van program, was heartened by a proposal to double to $13 million the money for support services at homeless shelters, most of which are at capacity across the state.

"I think it would make a substantial difference," she said. "With a little breathing room and a little help, we could really make the transition for a lot of people faster and smoother."

About half of the new money would be aimed at public housing projects, which have been plagued by a repair and maintenance backlog that prevents hundreds of families from moving into vacant units in a timely fashion.

"We are going to have to play catch-up," Lingle said.

Kamehameha Homes tenant Faith Daniels-Tafisi said the administration is correct in putting about half of the new money into fixing public housing in urban Honolulu, where most of the jobs are, rather than building more homeless shelters in outlying areas like Wai'anae.

"By living in public housing, that's more permanent than shelters," she said.

Daniels-Tafisi said she has seen units sit empty for more than a year when it seemed like all the state needed to do was touch up the paint and ensure that things worked.

"The majority of the places, they're looking good," she said. "I don't know what seems to be the problem to get the units fixed to get someone else to move in."

While $50 million would go to fixing up vacant units and major structural repairs, another $15 million would go to fixing elevators.

That is a big issue at projects with high-rises, like Kuhio Park Terrace, said Daniels-Tafisi, who had heard stories from her sister about long waits for elevators, assuming the elevators were working at all.

"By getting their elevators fixed, it would be so much easier for the tenants," she said.

Beyond improving public housing, Lingle said, she hopes to increase the stock of available affordable homes and rentals.

Her plan would infuse $50 million into the Rental Housing Trust Fund over two years, which could be combined with money from private and nonprofit developers to build more affordable rentals.

As for affordable housing, Lingle has budgeted $14.4 million for a water system in North Kona, where 2,500 new homes could be built on state land.

Although separate from housing, Lingle said she expects some of her health and human services proposals to reduce the number of homeless by expanding outpatient mental health services to an additional 5,000 adults.

She has proposed $56.8 million for developmental and mental health needs, which includes extra staffing, early intervention and outpatient services that have "the very positive impact of bringing down the number of homeless people in the state."

Upon hearing a breakdown of some of Lingle's plans, homeless advocate the Rev. Bob Nakata said, "It sounds like a significant increase ... $128 million, that sounds good."

Whether the money will be made available at the end of the legislative session will in part be up to Democratic lawmakers, who hold majorities in the House and Senate.

House majority leaders were critical of Lingle's plans yesterday afternoon. House Speaker Calvin Say said, "The devil is in the details at this point."

He pointed out that Lingle did not include money for public worker union raises, which Say anticipates could cost the state $350 million to $400 million.

House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell suggested that by leaving the raises out, "Perhaps the governor is avoiding the difficult decision that has to be made and is hoping the Legislature will make it for her by finding the money."

Lingle's proposals will compete with a package by the House and Senate majority, which Caldwell said would focus on issues such affordable housing, education, alternative energy and healthcare, issues that parallel the priorities Lingle sketched out.

While education received the bulk of Lingle's proposed funding, House Finance Committee chairman Marcus Oshiro said that the $4.6 billion proposed by the governor is 40 percent short of the classroom requests by the state Department of Education.

One area both the administration and the House leadership agreed on is that there will be tax relief this session, as required by the state Constitution.

The law requires a tax refund or credit whenever the general fund exceeds revenues by more than 5 percent for two consecutive years.

The last fiscal year ended with a $732.3 million carryover balance, and a $454.4 surplus is projected for the current fiscal year.

The amount of the refund has yet to be decided.

"What dollar amount it is depends on negotiating with the Senate, along with the administration," Say said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.