I Created a New Law

You might think you’re too young to change how our government works. It’s not true. I live in Greenland Hills, Texas. I helped get a bill signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott!

Two years ago, when I was in fourth grade, I visited a bunch of national parks with my family. Under the Every Kid Outdoors program, fourth-graders and their families get into national parks for free.

I wondered if there was a similar program for kids to visit Texas state parks. I did some research and found out there wasn’t.

So I wrote a letter to Morgan Meyer, my state representative. I asked him to introduce a bill to give fifth-graders and their families free passes to Texas state parks.

We learn about Texas history in fourth grade. If we got free passes the next year, we could see the things we learned about—like the battlefield of San Jacinto.

Representative Meyer introduced the bill. Last year, he asked me to speak in front of other lawmakers to explain my idea. I spoke before two groups in April and May. Along the way, the bill was reviewed by the Texas Senate and House of Representatives.

Finally, in June 2019, it was signed into law! It was a lot of work, but I kept thinking I was making a big difference for Texas families.

I’d like to encourage all kids to dream big!