MMA Weekly keeps passing along "hope" that MMA legislation will get done in 2009, unfortunately MMA Weekly needs a bucket of cold water from the Hudson River to wake them from their stupor. 

First let us break down what has actually happened within the New York legislature. Right now the Assembly is out of session until 2010. The state Senate has been recalled for a special session due to a political coup that ground the Senate to a halt during the last two weeks of their session. Governor Patterson needed to force a special session just to get all the senators in the same room in the hope they can resolve the crisis and pass some of the Assembly's bills. All of this tells us that the New York senators were more than willing to walk away from a mess until 2010. 

There is some good news. Two days ago it appeared that the Senate may finally have a deal worked out to resolve the coup and that they can pick up normal legislative duties. But it is important to remember this is a special session and the senate will be operating on borrowed time; meaning that the most important legislation will have priority. 

Now what is it that MMA Weekly reporting? They are reporting that the Senate may pass bills that differ from the Assembly's version. Thus the Assembly may have to come back to vote on the new version of the bill. And if that happens then the MMA proponents in the Assembly will try to continue work on the MMA bill, which isn't even part of the schedule nor has it even passed the Assembly yet. Oh yeah, UFC VP Marc Ratner feels optimistic about it. Now if all those things happen, and it is a big IF, the MMA bill will still have to go through the remaining legislative process before it would pass the Assembly.

Let's do quick recap what the MMA bill still has to go through in the Assembly

1. Codes Committee (for bills with legal implications)
2. Ways and Means Committee (for bills with fiscal implications) 
3. Assembly floor for a general vote. 

See where we going with this? Now that's just the Assembly. If all that were to happen then it would still have to go through the Senate and then on to the governor. Again, that is assuming the Senate doesn't change the MMA bill or falls back into turmoil. On top of that, all of this would have to happen on the shortened time line of a special session.

If the bubble of hope that MMA Weekly inflated hasn't completely burst yet here is another dose of cold hard reality. The New York Senate is working on far more pertinent legislation than legalizing MMA (which isn't even on their schedule since the Assembly didn't pass it). For instance, New York City's budget, pension reform, gay marriage, unemployment benefits, municipal tax rates and much, much more.

This is really what MMA Weekly is reporting: deadlock in New York but feel hopeful about 2009 because Marc Ratner has a hunch that the Assembly will have to come back and if they do come back there is a chance they can work on MMA as oppose to you know, entitlement reform and other important stuff for the economic viability of the state. 

There is a saying, "hope is denying reality." I tend to think of myself as a positive guy so I wouldn't say that there is a snowball's chance in hell that MMA gets done this year. But I will say that all the remaining hurdles plus all the available evidence (regarding the efficiency of the New York Legislature) overwhelming points to this simple fact: Mixed Martial Arts legislation will have to wait until 2010.