Report: NY Assembly Speaker Doubtful of MMA Regulation in 2011

According to a Tuesday report from the New York Daily News, N.Y. State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver this week expressed doubts that the most recent bill to sanction MMA in the state would make it to the Assembly floor for a full vote.

“There does not appear to be widespread support in the Assembly for this legislation,” Silver said regarding the bill’s chances of being approved by June 20, the end of the legislative session.

Silver’s opinion seems to run contrary to the actions of the state’s representatives in recent weeks. In May, the New York State Senate approved the bill by a vote of 48-12. On June 6, the proposal passed through the Assembly’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee by a vote of 16-3. Additionally, according to the New York Daily News, the bill is expected next week to “zip through” the Assembly Codes Committee, which will discuss the legal implications of instituting the bill.

As speaker of the assembly, Silver controls which bills will make it to the Assembly floor by the June 20 deadline to receive a vote. Were the bill approved by the assembly, Governor Andrew Cuomo would then have the option to sign it into law. New York is one of only three states possessing athletic commissions in which MMA is not legal.