SANTA FE, NM – House Bill 303 (HB 303), Foster Family Park and Museum Free Admission, goes into effect tomorrow and will provide more young people with access to the outdoors and cultural sites throughout New Mexico. Sponsored by Representatives Kelly K. Fajardo, Rebecca Dow, David M. Gallegos, Susan K. Herrera, and Angelica Rubio and signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 2, 2019 the bill goes into effect tomorrow, June 14.
New Mexico State Parks, a Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), is committed to connecting youth with the outdoors. By providing free day-use admission to State Parks for foster parents and children in the custody of foster parents, the Division is fulfilling its mission of creating a safe outdoor space with educational opportunities for more New Mexico residents.
“New Mexico State Parks supported this legislation during the session, and I enthusiastically added my signature updating our rules to allow free admission for foster families,” said EMNRD Cabinet Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst. “This legislation will open up the outdoors and our many vibrant cultural sites to more New Mexicans which is a top priority for this administration.”
“Our state-run museums and historic sites are also offering free admission to New Mexico’s foster care families who do so much to support children in need,” says Debra Garcia y Griego, Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. “Providing a sense of place, community and history, we hold a vast collection of cultural treasures which now will be easily accessible to New Mexico’s foster families.”
“We at Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD) are so appreciative of this opportunity for our children in foster care. New Mexico has great parks and museums and these passes will allow them to experience activities they might not have been able to otherwise,” said Annamarie Luna, Acting Protective Services Director at CYFD.
Free admission to state-owned museums and parks is contingent upon a current New Mexico’s driver’s license or other state of New Mexico issues photo identification and a current New Mexico CYFD foster parent certification card.