State House and Senate Democratic leaders, recognizing the deteriorating conditions at the University of Hawai'i, committed yesterday to an ambitious multi-year effort to reduce the repair and maintenance backlog.

While lawmakers have not decided how much they will spend or on the mix between cash and bond financing, they have agreed that the condition of campus facilities affects the educational experience of students and is a poor reflection of the state.

The UH repair and maintenance backlog has been in the spotlight following the success of the Warrior football team and since June Jones resigned to become head coach at Southern Methodist University.

The money for UH is expected to be the most expensive item among a series of legislative proposals unveiled yesterday as part of the Democrats' joint majority package.

In light of a slowing economy, the package of bills was otherwise modest, much of it a continuation of work from previous sessions in the areas of energy, agriculture, the environment and affordable housing. But the package is significant because it represents what House and Senate leaders have agreed to try to achieve during the session.

"It represents building on the foundation that we've started in prior years and working on the infrastructure of the future," said Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau).

With the high cost of housing putting more people at risk of homelessness, lawmakers emphasized several ideas to make housing more affordable.

Plans are to continue directing 20 percent of the state's conveyance tax to a trust fund dedicated to increasing the number of affordable housing units statewide. Other initiatives include making it easier for developers to build affordable projects.

Low-income renters could find more immediate relief through adjustments to the state's rental assistance program, including giving qualified participants more time to find a place to live, perhaps reflecting the grace period in the federal Section 8 housing program.

State Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, D-45th (Wai'anae, Makaha, Makua), chairwoman of the House Human Services and Housing Committee, said lawmakers also want to change the focus of the rental assistance program to help people "not only stay in the house that they're in but help people who are homeless now or in shelters get out of those shelters and find housing."

In addition, lawmakers reiterated their commitment to dedicate $26 million in bond financing for the purchase of the Kukui Gardens affordable housing complex in Chinatown, part of a two-year plan they approved last year.

A number of the initiatives are aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuel and making it easier for people to recycle.

State Sen. Ron Menor, D-17th (Mililani, Waipi'o), chairman of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, said lawmakers plan to make it easier for people to recycle their beverage containers by requiring large retailers to have redemption sites.

Another bill would create an E-Waste recycling program that would give people a place to get rid of their computers, monitors, televisions and other electronic waste that would otherwise go to the landfill.

With other bills that would encourage alternative-energy production and emphasize a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, Menor said, "I'm confident that the 2008 session will be the year of the greening of Hawai'i."

The package also features up to $6 million to protect the state against invasive species, with a particular focus on preventing the introduction of the brown tree snake from Guam. The snake can be devastating to native birds.

"Nothing less than an aggressive effort on invasive species should come out of this legislative session," said state Sen. Jill Tokuda, D-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.