CREAM RIDGE - Reports of college graduates streaming out of New Jersey, because they just can't afford to stay here, prompts a shore lawmaker to develop a possible solution for keeping the best and the brightest while boosting businesses.

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Under a measure introduced by Assemblyman Ron Dancer (R-12), employers who hire degree holders in science, technology, engineering or math, would receive tax credits for helping pay their student loans - up to $5,000 a year.

"Brain drain takes a toll on New Jersey business," Dancer said in prepared comments "Our state colleges are producing talented young workers who are well-prepared for today's challenging business climate. The tax credit helps companies fill job openings with qualified employees and helps our New Jersey resident graduates with their onerous student loan burdens."

Figures compiled by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association reflected 22,000 millenial-agers leaving New Jersey in 2015, the same year that Pennsylvania gained 19,000.

Dancer says that his bill (A5272) can break the financial wall. "When students graduate, they realize they have to start paying off their student loans. We can entice them to stay in their home state with good-paying jobs and help with their college debt burden."

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