The legislature of New Mexico, taking cognizance that the federal government, under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act of June 14, 1926, as amended, has authorized the department of the interior to sell to the states federal land at a price of two dollars fifty cents ($2.50) per acre or to lease to the states land at the price of twenty-five cents ($.25) per acre a year, for recreational purposes, and the legislature taking further cognizance of the fact that public park and recreation areas are of vital importance in the development and growth of this state, and noting that valuable and scenic land areas within New Mexico may be purchased or leased at minimal cost for development as park and recreational areas from either private or federal ownership, hereby authorizes the state park and recreation division [state parks division] to purchase or lease such lands in the name of the state.

History: 1953 Comp., § 4-9-11.1, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 149, § 1; 1977, ch. 254, § 22.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Laws 1997, ch. 149, § 3 provided that the "state park and recreation division" means the "state parks division". See 9-5A-6.1 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For the Recreation and Public Purposes Act of June 14, 1926, see 43 U.S.C. §§ 869 to 869-4.

State officials proper defendants in action on lease agreement. — In an action alleging that state officials, acting under this section and Sections 16-2-11 and 16-2-13 NMSA 1978 in authorizing the development of recreation areas under a lease agreement with the United States, violated federal law, the state officials, and not the state, were the proper defendants, since the state cannot "authorize" officials to violate federal law. Elephant Butte Irrigation Dist. v. Dep't of Interior, 160 F.3d 602 (10th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1019, 119 S. Ct. 1255, 143 L. Ed. 2d 352 (1999).