State Sen. Wayne Fontana said today that he will introduce legislation allowing municipalities to charge tax-exempt institutions a fee based on their property holdings.

Mr. Fontana said it would allow municipalities to negotiate voluntary payments with universities, hospital systems and other large institutions that aren't subject to property taxes. If that failed, the municipalities could charge them a services fee based on their buildings' square footage. A tax-exempt institution's first 50,000 square feet of floor space would be exempt, but any space above that would be assessed at $100 per 1,000 square feet.

"It's my opinion that they have a financial obligation to the city or the municipality for the services that they get," Mr. Fontana said. "They have vast amounts of real estate that they have accumulated."

Mr. Fontana said that he was motivated in part by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's effort to place a tax on tuition at colleges, universities, trade schools and possibly other institutions of post-secondary education. He questioned its legality, and noted that there's a move afoot in Harrisburg to ban the tuition tax.

State Rep. Paul Costa plans to introduce next week legislation outlawing tuition taxes, and requiring two-thirds votes of municipal councils and the General Assembly to enact or raise taxes during lame-duck sessions.

"As a parent of two children that are in college that go to a city university, I'm not happy about this," he said of the tuition tax. The levy "might be just the difference that gets people to consider another city."

He's also a part-time faculty member at Point Park University, teaching one course per semester, and a member of the university's board.

"Do I see that as a conflict? Not particularly," he said. "The fact that I teach one course a semester, I don't think that impacts my life that greatly."

It does allow him to interact with students a lot, he said, and they don't want the tax.

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