MMA vote in New York scheduled for Tuesday
UFC welterweight Ryan LaFlare from Lindenhurst makes his walk to the Octagon, flanked by trainer Keith Trimble of Bellmore Kickboxing, second front left, Henri Hooft, background, and jiu-jitsu coach Gregg DePasquale of Long Island MMA in Farmingdale, right, at Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on Dec. 11, 2015. Credit: Mario Gonzalez
The bill to legalize mixed martial arts in New York begins what is expected to be its final steps in the seven-year journey to become a law on Tuesday morning.
The State Assembly’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee will take up the issue in its meeting on Tuesday morning, according to the agenda posted on their website. As of Friday evening, it is the only item listed on the agenda.
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The bill to legalize mixed martial arts in New York begins what is expected to be its final steps in the seven-year journey to become a law on Tuesday morning.
The State Assembly’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee will take up the issue in its meeting on Tuesday morning, according to the agenda posted on their website. As of Friday evening, it is the only item listed on the agenda.
Should the bill pass through the tourism committee as expected, it will go to the Codes Committee (it already is listed on their agenda for Tuesday as well), then the Ways & Means Committee. From there, it would go to the Assembly floor for a full vote.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie (D-Bronx) said the legislative body would be voting on the issue.
The bill needs a simple majority — 76 votes — in the Assembly to pass. The majority Democratic conference typically doesn’t move a bill to the floor without having the necessary votes on its own to pass the bill. It is believed there are approximately 80 Democrats in favor of legalizing the sport. The Assembly bill also has 73 sponsors across party lines attached to it.
New York remains the lone state with a ban on professional MMA. The State Senate has passed the bill seven straight years only to see it stall in the Assembly, until now.