Kenneth Lovett of the NY Daily News reported earlier this week that a bill to regulate MMA has been removed from the New York state budget proposal that’s been sitting in the Assembly since April.
The article cites Assemblyman Steven Englebright, a supporter of MMA, as saying that there wasn’t enough support for the bill’s inclusion in the proposal.
Payout Perspective:
There are two separate bills running through New York government:
- The first is an individual bill running through the Assembly and Senate. This is the bill that recently passed through the Senate and is now awaiting two votes from the Assembly.
- The second is a bill that was coupled with the state budget proposal in April. This bill has since been removed by the Assembly.
Unfortunately, it looks as though time has once again run out on MMA in New York. The two different votes needed to completely pass the bill in the Assembly will likely not come as the 2010 session has ended and only continues due to the fact that the budget has yet to pass.
This is the second time that an MMA bill has stalled in the middle of the legislative process. Last year a bill made it all the way through the Assembly, but failed to pass through the Senate before the end of session. This time the situation is the reverse.
It would appear as though the bill will return to the Tourism Committee next year for another vote and repeat the process over again. That is unless, by some tiny chance, that the Assembly addresses the current MMA bill while in its emergency session.
The only thing more frustrating than MMA politics are MMA politics mixed with government politics LOL
lol
ufc has reached its business maturity phase…they should watch out for the decline stage already……they have been in business for 15 yrs but still cant get ny license…oh well
Zuffa should continue to press the issue with the NY State legislature. It’s not a matter of if, but when this finally happens. The influx of tourist dollars obviously isnt enough of an enticement for NY State. Sad, because, NY like the rest of the country is still in an economic recession. These kind of laws help fill the coffers up with additional tax revenue, it’s ironic. The NY Stae legislature will continue to scratch their collective heads about how to generate revenue for the state. And leave millions of tax dollars on the table. This is only a small setback for Zuffa. Zuffa needs to continue building their products, sanctioning new territories and introducing their product to new audiences. The decline stage is much further away then ger is giving credit. In America, yes, UFC is starting to reach it’s business maturity phrase, but, worldwide; UFC/WEC are scratching the surface. So, Zuffa are still in their infancy. The collaboration with Flash Entertainment and the offices in Canada and Europe are going to pay off before you know it.