Hawai'i has what many consider a housing crisis.

Home prices have doubled since 2002. Cheap rentals are being demolished or sold off to develop higher-priced condominiums. And scant affordable housing is being built.

Concerned lawmakers this year are taking some of their boldest steps ever to improve the local housing environment, introducing bills that propose everything from subsidizing down-payment loans for homebuyers to penalizing people who buy and sell a home within two years to requiring some new residential projects have at least 60 percent affordable housing.

Other bills propose exempting affordable housing projects from certain land-use rules and putting more money into the state's rental housing trust fund, which provides loans and grants to builders of affordable rentals.

But can state leaders help people like Kimberly Christy who can't afford the recent run-up in housing costs that have made Hawai'i rents the highest in the nation?

Christy pays $725 a month for a one-bedroom apartment she's lived in for six years. Struggling financially and living on Social Security, the 41-year-old single woman two years ago obtained Section 8 housing assistance to help pay her rent after a 3-year wait to get into the federal aid program.

In December, a Tennessee company bought the Beretania Street building Christy lives in, and plans to knock it down to build medical offices. Christy has until June 30 to find another place to live.

"It's making me terrified," she said. "It's so hard to find housing."

Any laws passed this year by the Legislature and Gov. Linda Lingle likely won't help Christy immediately, but could improve the future situation for her and others in dire need of affordable housing.

"The common message from every district across the state, from Hawi to Hanalei, is loud and clear — people are struggling to keep up with the cost of living," Rep. Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said in a speech last month announcing the House Majority Caucus bill package targeting affordable housing and three other issues being elevated this session.

To emphasize the focus on housing, Democrats in the House announced their bill package at Kukui Gardens, a private low-income apartment complex on the edge of Chinatown that the state is trying to save from partial or complete redevelopment by a private developer buying the property.

Lawmakers have introduced various bills in the House and Senate to buy part or all of the 857-unit project being bought by San Francisco-based Carmel Partners for $131 million.

Much attention also is being channeled to two housing-related bills from the House Majority Caucus. The first would exempt proposed residential developments from land-use, zoning and environmental impact statement laws if for at least 30 years all units are rented to tenants earning no more than 140 percent of a county's median income at rents limited to no more than 30 percent of a tenant's income.

Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, House Human Service and Housing Committee chairwoman, said the bill, House Bill 1001, isn't intended to allow high-rises in areas with low-rise zoning, but is intended to reduce development costs and allow nontraditional forms of affordable housing that conform to building codes. The bill also would allow development of qualified projects on public land leased for $1 a year.

"It's very bold and controversial," said Shimabukuro, D-45th (Wai'anae, Makaha, Makua). "But at the same time I'm thrilled that the leadership of the House is open to the idea."

The second House Majority Caucus bill on housing intends to discourage real estate speculation, which in part has fueled rising home prices, by imposing a higher capital gains tax on anyone who buys and sells a home within two years.

Under the measure, House Bill 1002, the tax would be 60 percent for flipping a home within six months, 30 percent for flips between six and 12 months, and 15 percent for flips between 12 and 24 months. The extra tax proceeds would go to the state's rental housing trust fund.

"That'll really put a damper on anyone looking to profit on the precious land in Hawai'i," Caldwell said in announcing the bill last month.

The Senate Majority Caucus hasn't as strongly emphasized affordable housing legislation, but has put forth a bill that would appropriate money for various homeless and housing programs and projects.

Senate Bill 1917 also would require the state's Hawai'i Finance and Development Corp. to create an affordable housing inventory registry, and allocate 50 percent of conveyance tax revenues to the rental housing trust fund for an extra two years until June 30, 2009.

Other housing-related bills introduced in the Senate are more forceful, and describe affordable housing as one of the state's most significant and challenging social problems. Perhaps the most wide-ranging piece of housing legislation is Senate Bill 1864. The omnibus bill would create a 15 percent tax credit for affordable housing construction, permit state-owned parcels to be leased for self-help housing development, and allow the state to transfer its low-income housing projects to private operators and pay a subsidy to help keep units as affordable rentals.

Among other things, the bill also would establish a down payment loan program, provide money to repair vacant public housing, and provide money to develop self-help ownership homes.

Another bill, Senate Bill 859, would boost the conveyance tax paid when someone buys a home if they don't qualify for a homeowners exemption. Rates were previously increased by the legislature in 2005.

Under the bill, the nonoccupant owner tax rate per $100 of home value would increase from 15 cents to 30 cents for homes under $600,000, from 25 cents to 40 cents for homes between $600,000 and $1 million, and from 35 cents to 70 cents for homes over $1 million.

For developers, House Bill 948 would exempt affordable housing projects from the general excise tax up to $4,000 per unit. The exemption would be limited to the first 2,500 units begun by the end of next year and completed by June 30, 2010.

Several bills, including one proposed by Lingle, would increase the share of conveyance taxes going to the state's rental housing fund, which helps private developers build affordable rentals. Currently 50 percent of the tax goes to the fund, which would receive to 65 percent if the law is modified as sought.

Another proposal by the governor is to contribute $50 million over two years to the state's Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund, which helps finance development and rehabilitation of affordable rental projects.

One of the most drastic proposals is to require any planned housing project with more than 25 units to make 60 percent of units affordable to low- and moderate-income people if the project needs state approval to reclassify land for residential use.

Developers are expected to strongly oppose the move proposed by Senate Bill 1949 and House Bill 1892 for setting a requirement that could make development economically imprudent and possibly stifle any project seeking a state land-use change. The typical county requirement for such projects is that 30 percent of units be affordable.

Shimabukuro acknowledged that passing the bill will be a stretch because of developer concerns, but that desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. "Perhaps it's time to take a drastic step like this," she said.

Christy, the low-income renter, wishes lawmakers will take some bold steps to alleviate the dwindling supply and rising prices of affordable housing. But for now, she's seeking church help to relocate from her building at 1413 S. Beretania St.

"It's a real bad problem," Christy said. "I don't want to become homeless. I think there needs to be more affordable housing for people, especially if they're disabled or low-income."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.