After speaker's gloomy evaluation, assemblyman gives New York MMA bill 50-50 shot
Things don't look good for MMA in New York this year, admits freshman state assemblyman Dean Murray.
With today's dour prediction on the assembly's MMA bill by speaker Sheldon Silver, Murray said, "We're in the third round and we're behind on every card."
But the fight is not over, he notes.
There are six days remaining in the 2011 legislative calendar. The assembly MMA bill, titled A04146A, on Monday passed by a vote of 16-3 in the Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development committee. It has three committees to clear – Codes, Ways and Means, and Rules – before it can receive a vote on the floor.
A companion bill in the state senate passed this past month by a vote of 42-18. But the assembly is where the push to regulate MMA in the Empire State has died the previous two years.
"It's expected to go to Codes early in the week," Murray told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "I've already talked to the Chairman there; he expects no problem getting through. It will then go to Ways and Means; I've spoken to the Chairman there, Herman Farrell, (and) urged him to let it get through committee and let it get to the floor."
But the decision to put the bill to vote on the assembly floor ultimately lies with speaker Sheldon, who today told the New York Daily News that, "There does not appear to be widespread support in the Assembly for this legislation."
Murray, however, thinks Sheldon is speaking before a true consensus has been gauged.
"I have a simple way to solve that problem," he said. "If there's any questions as to whether or not there is support for this bill in either conference, the easiest way is to put it to the floor for an up and down vote, and we'll solve that mystery real quick."
Of course, there are many MMA observers who believe that consensus is not a top priority for Silver. The speaker is said to be aligned with Democrat assemblyman Bob Reily, a public opponent of the sport, and his comments today certainly suggest a disconnect with the recent votes in the senate and assembly, if not outright opposition to MMA.
But it may simply be a lack of time in the remaining legislative session, Murray said.
"On his plate right now is still rent control, property-tax cap, same-sex marriage, ethics reform, and he's got all that and about a week and a half to go," he said. "I don't think it's a matter of him liking or disliking this issue. I think it's a matter of it being not really a high priority for him right now, which is why we're urging him to make it more of a priority.
"Because to a lot of the members of the assembly, and to a lot of fans out there, this is very much a priority."
Murray, a Republican, said there's no need to shout across the aisle to get a consensus. This week, he submitted a letter of support for the MMA bill to speaker Silver and Ways and Means chair Farrell that was signed by 60 assembly members – Democrats and Republicans alike. This past April, Democrat assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, the chair of the state's Labor Committee, circulated a letter that urged fellow lawmakers to consider the economic benefits of legalizing the sport in the state.
"I would have had more signatures but I wanted to make sure it was in their hands before we left Albany before the week," Murray said. "We could have easily had 65 to 70 signatures."
UFC president Dana White has said the opposition to MMA in New York stems from a union dispute involving his business partners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who also own Station Casinos in Nevada.
Murray is unaware if the assembly members in the Ways and Means committee that signed his letter comprise a majority that would get the bill to the Rules Committee. It's all for naught, though, if Silver doesn't greenlight a vote. Without that, the MMA bill will die once again in committee.
A crucial component in getting a vote continues to be the public's voice. The Coalition to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York, a grassroots organization comprised of industry insiders, promoters, journalists and martial-arts teachers based in New York, has actively lobbied New York MMA fans to contact their assemblyman in support of the assembly bill.
The industry-leading UFC has strongly lobbied on behalf of MMA in New York, holding a rally earlier this year at Madison Square Garden to release a study that said two UFC events held in the state could generate $16 million in economic activity.
"If it hits the floor and we actually take a vote, it will pass, and I've already talked to the governor and he has absolutely assured me that if we get it to his desk, he will sign it into law," Murray said. "In fact, the last time I saw him at the governor's mansion, he asked me – he said, 'Well, Dean. What's going on with the mixed martial arts bill? I haven't seen it yet.' I said, 'Trust me, governor. I'm doing everything I can to get it to your desk.'
"I'd still give it a 50-50 shot. I don't think it's dead. I think it's going to take the fans reaching out and saying, 'Give us a fair shot. Give us our fair vote.' I also think it's going to take the Democratic members of the assembly to speak out and say, 'Yes, I do want to see this go through.'"
There are mere minutes left in the legislative fight. It's going to take a knockout punch to see MMA in New York this year.
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