They unveiled their Intellectual Capital proposal during the Charleston Area Alliance’s yearly Issues & Eggs breakfast on Jan. 13. It calls for cutting state income tax for West Virginia residents for the two years after they earn a college degree and offering a $500 state tax credit for interest paid on a student loan.

“This is the kind of legislation that could make West Virginia a national destination for young talent,” said Paul Daugherty, who heads Generation West Virginia, the statewide group formed three years ago to provide professional development, networking and a voice on issues important to workers in their 20s, 30s and early 40s.

Daugherty, a 31-year-old Doddridge County native who works as the director of development at the West Virginia University Eye Institute in Morgantown, planned to talk with lawmakers about the ideas this week as about 60 members of Generation West Virginia were expected to gather Jan. 21 for the group’s first Day at the Legislature.

Two key Senate Democrats already have expressed support for the Intellectual Capital proposals: Brooks McCabe of Kanawha, County and Richard Browning, who chairs the Senate’s Economic Development Committee.

T.J. Meadows, a leader with both Generation Charleston and Generation West Virginia, believes offering tax incentives to new graduates would attract young people — and boost the state’s economic future as a whole.

“This is something tangible West Virginia could do that would make a difference for someone just finishing a degree and looking for a job,” said the 29-year-old Boone County native, who works as a spokesman for Appalachian Power.

If West Virginia could begin to plug up the brain drain and also attract college graduates from other states, Meadows said West Virginia would become a more attractive place for businesses to open or expand. Meadows said he sees the proposed legislation as an opportunity for the state to become a trendsetter. “It’s similar to how Florida works to attract an older population,” he said. “West Virginia is so often characterized as old and behind the times, but this is a chance to get out in front of all the other states. It’s a proactive move.”

College students, including many who grew up in West Virginia, might shift their views about staying in the state once they’ve completed their degrees, said Rebecca Samples, assistant vice president for development at Marshall University.

“A lot of college students fall under the impression that they have to leave the state to find success,” said the 35-year-old Kanawha County native. “It really isn’t the case, but that’s perception.”

She hopes the Intellectual Capital legislation earns a positive reception from lawmakers. “I think the more government can do to attract and keep young people, the better,” she said. “We’ve started down that path with the Promise Scholarships, and now this is the next logical step – to find a way to keep that experience in the state.”

Still, the state can’t focus solely on financial incentives to attract educated young people, said 26-year-old R.B. Seem, a Martinsburg banker who leads the Young Professionals of the Eastern Panhandle.

“If it’s just about money, I’m not sure the tax breaks are enough to make a difference for a lot of young graduates,” said Seem, vice president of lending at MVB Bank in Martinsburg. “If someone graduates with a teaching degree, and they can work here for $30,000 or earn $50,000 in Loudoun County [Virginia] and money is the big consideration, then a break on state taxes probably isn’t going to persuade someone to stay.”

But Seem said West Virginia’s appeal goes beyond money.

“I didn’t move back to West Virginia for the money,” said the Martinsburg native who lived in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., before returning to the Panhandle in 2007. “I know a lot of young people feel the same way: It’s about what West Virginia offers. I like my life here.”

John Connor, who left his native Pennsylvania for a VISTA assignment in West Virginia and then a full-time job with Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity in Franklin, believes it’s possible for West Virginia to make itself more attractive to young college graduates born and raised out of state.

“The tax changes that are being talked about would have come in handy for me,” said Connor, who is the president of the newly formed Generation Pendleton, which officially launched this month as the newest regional group under the Generation West Virginia umbrella.

“West Virginia is so beautiful, such a great place to raise a family,” said the 33-year-old Connor, who is married and a new father. “If these incentives can get them (out-of-state grads) here, I feel sure many, many of them would get rooted here and want to stay. It’s hard not to fall in love with West Virginia.”

Connor, whose group held a town hall forum earlier this month and plans an informal networking event Jan. 25 at the Fireside Café in Franklin, said he’s delighted to see West Virginia lawmakers looking for ways to keep and attract young graduates to the state.