Good News and Bad News

The AP has a recent article about MMA legislation in New York (recap following shortly) but there is some good news and some bad news dealing with the lawmakers involved. First the good news, 

"I got into this accidentally," said Reilly, a former cross-country coach at Siena College. "This is not my issue in life. I'm very interested in agriculture."

This is good news because it shows that Reilly is not making this issue a top priority. How could he in such an economic environment? Reilly is more focused on his constiuency's more pressing issues, hence the line about agriculture. 

Now for the bad news, 

In the end, the future of MMA in New York seems uncertain. The chief sponsor, Assemblyman Steven Englebright, appears reluctant to put the full weight of his position as tourism committee chairman behind the legislation.

The fact that our cheif sponsor isn't enthusiastic about the issue really hurts the bill. It means that Englebright is not willing to spend a lot of his poltical capital in order to pass the bill. Often times with legislation it comes down to a lawmakers investment in order to make the deals with member on the fence. If the sponsor of a bill doesn't have a lot invested he can easily abandon the bill if opponents pull some legislative trickery (like attach spending measures). 

Still Reilly's apparent disinterest is great news for New York MMA.