You can get cash back when you buy something with your credit card.

Why shouldn't state government?

State House Republicans unveiled a series of cost-saving and moneymaking proposals Wednesday that they say could virtually close Pennsylvania's looming $1 billion-plus budget deficit without raising taxes.

Among them: using purchasing cards, which are similar to debit cards and come with a nearly 1.5 percent rebate, instead of checks.

"Pennsylvania spends $22 billion on goods and services, mostly by check," said Rep. John Bear, a Lititz Republican. "Pennsylvania can get points back through purchase cards and making them the primary method of payment."

Bear, who worked as a management consultant for state governments before being elected in 2006, estimated Pennsylvania could generate as much as $219 million if it pays for 70 percent of its purchases with "P-cards."

House Republican leaders said the idea, unveiled at a Capitol news conference Wednesday morning, would be the easiest to implement before serious budget negotiations begin.

It was among seven proposals unveiled by Bear and Rep. Sheryl Delozier, a Cumberland County Republican. They said the measures could save and generate between $557 million and $1.6 billion.

"It's really no longer good enough to say what we're going to cut or tax to generate new revenue," Bear said. "These are nonpartisan ideas, so — whether you're a Republican or a Democrat — you should like these ideas."

The proposals come just days after Gov. Ed Rendell called on legislators to increase taxes to limit the number of state employee layoffs or furloughs that are likely to result from spending cuts.

Rendell made the comments after disappointing tax collections in April threw the state budget further out of balance and squashed Democrats' hopes that the month would begin a turnaround from two years of recession-driven shortfalls.

Through the first 10 months of the budget year, Pennsylvania is facing a $1.1 billion shortfall.

Aside from offering specific proposals to expand taxes on things like business income, natural gas extraction and cigar sales, Rendell said the Legislature should contribute a portion of its reserve that is expected to be about $180 million by the June 30 end of the fiscal year.

In addition to using purchasing cards, Bear and Delozier propose:

• Collecting sales tax on goods sold over the Internet on a voluntary basis, which they said could generate an estimated $21 million a year if only 3 percent of online retailers participate. Bear said Pennsylvania is missing out on $706 million in uncollected sales and use taxes a year.

• Processing Supplemental Security Income payments for other states. Pennsylvania began processing its own SSI payments in 2003 and is the only state to do so. Bear said that charging other states $12 per transaction could generate an estimated $50 million to $152 million a year.

• Correcting tax-refund errors. By correcting its 10 percent to 12 percent error rate, the state could save $50 million a year, Bear said.

"I even had a constituent who came into my office the other day. He said, 'John, I got this check for $200 from the Department of Revenue and they won't take it back,' " he said.

• Reducing the size of the state's fleet of 16,637 vehicles by a third and require state employees to use rental vehicles for trips more than 100 miles. The move would save an estimated $36 million a year.

• Working to eliminate 90 percent of the state's Medicaid eligibility errors, which would save between $288 million and $1 billion a year.

• Improving compliance with the state's unclaimed property laws by making sure forfeited property is properly reported and turned over to the state, a move that could generate between $50 million and $80 million a year.

DOCUMENT: Cost-saving and money-making proposals (PDF)

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