Malloy passes MMA bill, will take effect in October

Sources with the state legislature confirmed yesterday that Governor Dan Malloy signed Public Act 13-259 (formerly House Bill 5277) into law on July 11, making Mixed Martial Arts legal in Connecticut. Although he went on record with media sources as stating that he did not particularly enjoy the sport, he signed the bill 15 days after receiving it on June 26 -- had he taken no action, it would have automatically become a law, according to legislative sources.
This was the fifth time that legislators attempted to pass the bill. Former West Hartford Mayor Jonathan Harris attempted to get a bill passed sanctioning the sport in 2009 while he served as a state senator.
Here at www.nutmegmma.com we have previous blog entries and archived stories detailing the process.
Bill Vigil, president of the AMMO Fight League in Glastonbury, called it a great day for the state's MMA community, adding that his organization would be hosting its first MMA event at either the end of this year or in early 2014. He expressed concern regarding health provisions in a related budget bill that would make MMA organizations responsible for all the healths costs incurred by a fighter from an event.
In future articles at this site, we plan to examine how the law functions as it takes effect on Oct. 1.