HELENA (AP) -- The Senate voted Thursday in favor of giving tax credits to recent college graduates who live in Montana and have student loans.

The body voted 38-12 to endorse a bill by Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, that gives up to $2,000 back to taxpayers during the first few years after they graduate from either a two-year or four-year institution.

But after voting for the bill, the Senate moved it to the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, where its fate is uncertain because it carries a $1.6 million price tag over the next two years.

Brueggeman said the incentives in his bill were necessary to keep the best and brightest in the state.

The measure would give those who graduated with student loans, this year and in the future, tax credits of up to $500 a year for as much as four years.

Opponents said the measure discriminated against those who worked their way through college without student loans, and complicated Montana's tax code.

"This bill has the worst of both worlds," said Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman.