New York to take up MMA legislation: WKR cautions patience

The new year has also brought in a new legislative calender for state governments as well as the federal government. New York's Assembly is meeting again and our elected officials around the country are beginning to deal with the worse economic climate in seventy years. While this climate may appear favorable to the legalization of MMA in New York, WKR once again is articulating caution and patience. There are some serious legislative priorities that all states are dealing with right now. New York is projecting a 14 billion dollar deficit over the next two years, and over 100,000 high paying (and tax paying) Wall Street jobs have been lost due to the economic melt down. That doesn't begin to scratch the surface of economic issues many states are dealing with.

The downward economy might be the necessary environment to get the New York Assembly to pass MMA legislation but that doesn't mean it will be precipitous in the next month. Legislative calenders are often stacked in the first months, with priorities to the newly elected officials. Voting calenders are determined by the party in power, and scheduling when a vote will occur is under the authority of the Speaker, and it is unknown whether he is an ally to MMA or not. So even if MMA legislation passes committee it might languish in legislative limbo. Once you consider that and the fact that New York, as well as all states in the Union, have serious budget problems, the first months of this new year will mostly be legislation dealing with their fiscal crisis.

Remember MMA legislation wasn't even voted on in committee last year, once it gets out of committee it still has to go to the floor for a vote by both houses. Then signed into law by the governor. Even with a favorable environment and a new athletic commission chairman, there is still a long road ahead for MMA legalization in New York, that is why WKR urges patience and caution.