State Representative Jim Struzzi says he is co-sponsoring a package of bills designed to change the way public schools are funded in Pennsylvania. Known as the Property Tax Freedom Act, House Bill 1670 would enable school districts to determine how they are funded, giving them the right to enact alternatives to property taxes, such as an earned income tax or a per capita tax. Any new tax would be offset by dollar-for-dollar reductions in property taxes.
One of the bill’s most prominent features is that a homeowner’s primary residence would no longer be held as a lien for property taxes, meaning you could not lose your home for not paying property taxes.
Struzzi says the exact language of House Bill 1670 is still being written. The primary sponsor is Representative Jason Ortitay of Washington and Allegheny counties. Struzzi is one of three co-sponsors.
Pennsylvania formed the Basic Education Funding Commission to examine ways to address a court ruling that the state’s school funding formula is unconstitutional. The panel held the first of ten scheduled hearings last week.
