Connecticut Senate passes MMA bill
by Brian Woodman Jr. on 06/06/13
During the final day of this year's legislative session, the state senate approved a bill legalizing MMA in Connecticut. The bill, which the senate approved by a 26-9 vote on June 5, awaits final approval by Governor Dan Malloy as of press time.
State Senator Andres Ayala and State Representative Charles Clemons proposed House Bill 5277 in January, which marks the fifth attempt by Connecticut law makers to legalize the sport in Connecticut (a previous article on this topic may be found at http://www.nutmegmma.com/Spring-Summer2012_Archive2.html). The Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods resorts are able to host MMA events because they are located on Indian reservations, which are considered federally protected sovereign states and have tribal gaming commissions.
“Bringing MMA to Connecticut means two things: economic activity and jobs," said Ayala in a prepared statement. "This is the fastest growing sport in the nation, and the hundreds of thousands of Connecticut MMA fans are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to view these events in their home state.”
The bill passed the House on May 7 by 117 to 26. During public testimony on the bill, it faced ouspoken opposition by union represenatives.
Lori Pelletier, a spokesperson for the AFL-CIO, stated during public testimony given earlier in the process that the UFC had a bad past record in its labor dealings. She also criticized MMA in general for condoning violence, racism, mysogyny and homophobia.
UFC Chairman & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta thanked Danbury resident and fighter Glover Teixeira for his lobbying efforts in Hartford.
“We look forward to Governor Dan Malloy signing the bill into law and making Connecticut the 49th state to legalize MMA and we look forward to bringing the UFC to our Connecticut fans,” said Fertitta in a prepared statement.
“We have spent a lot of time in Hartford over the past three years speaking with Senators and Representatives and educating them about the sport," said UFC Senior Vice President Michael Mersch. "We greatly appreciate the opportunity the members provided for the UFC to make the case for how this will benefit Connecticut economically and provide an opportunity for our Connecticut fans to see UFC at home, rather than traveling to and spending money in other states.”
"It is good that Connecticut will allow this sport; we just have to make sure that the new fight committee will ensure equal opportunity to all MMA companies and not favor others such as the UFC," said Bill Vigil, who owns the Glastonbury based AMMO Fight League. The organization currently offers mixed grappling events but is training competitors that fight in other states.
During the latest session, another proposal mentions the subject. House Bill 6706, which contains provisions for the two-year state budget ending in 2015 and was passed by both houses, contains a section requiring that organizations or individuals employing competitors for MMA events pay for health costs resulting from the events.
"We are aware that insurance and health care that would be the responsibility of the companies holding these events," said Vigil. "AMMO will be meeting with a few organizations to determine if it is feasible to conduct one this year or hold off until next year to see how the bylaws of this sport pan out in Connecticut."
For my opinions on this and previous attempts to sanction the sport, check out http://www.nutmegmma.com/NutmegMMABlog.html?entry=mma-bill-passes-house and http://www.nutmegmma.com/NutmegMMABlog.html?entry=connecticut-and-mma-an-opinion.
