LD 1685 Testimony

On February 23rd, 2010, I testified in favor of LD 1685 An Act To Clarify the Enforcement Role of the Mixed Martial Arts Authority of Maine to the Joint Committee on Business, Research, and Economic Development. Below is my the testimony I presented:

Senator Schneider, Representative Smith and members on the Joint Standing Committee on Business, Research, and Economic Development, I am Matthew Peterson and I serve District 92 which includes the Oxford County towns of Andover, Byron, Roxbury, and Rumford, as well as the Franklin County communities of Weld and plantations of Rangeley and Sandy River plus the unorganized territories of West Central Franklin and Madrid Township. I am here today to present LD 1685, An Act To Clarify the Enforcement Role of the Mixed Martial Arts Authority of Maine.

Last session this Committee considered and passed LD 1089 An Act To Regulate Mixed Martial Arts Competitions, Exhibitions and Events, sending it to the floor of both Chambers where it was eventually passed into law and duly signed by the Governor. I am pleased to report that the Governor has appointed members to the Mixed Martial Arts Authority of Maine and that body has held its first meeting and is proceeding with the development of rules that will carry out the intent of that legislation. I anticipate that the first Mixed Martial Arts events will be held at some point later in this year -- although it is difficult to determine the exact schedule given the timeframes in the rulemaking process.

After the end of the session, I was in contact with the Maine Attorney General’s office regarding the formation of the Authority and the rulemaking process, and after a closer examination of the statute that we passed creating this Authority, the AG’s office expressed some concerns about language and provisions of the bill that they felt lacked enough specificity to insure the smooth enforcement of the duties delegated to the Authority.

The bill before you today makes a number of minor but important technical corrections that clarify the duties of board of this new Authority, specifically:

· Giving the board specific ability to enter into contracts for support of its operations;

· Establishes a certification process as the foundation for credentialing and enforcement;

· Requires the attendance of a physician at all sanctioned events;

· Provides the board with the authority to undertake inspections and investigations in relation to any events;

· Further clarifies the board’s general authority to take all necessary actions to insure that all events are conducted in accordance with the original act.

· Significantly enhances the language pertaining to the enforcement authority of the Board.

This last area is the most extensive language revision and it is intended to give specific authority to the Board, in statute, that can be the foundation for any enforcement actions taken against those who are certified participants in MMA events. I am not a lawyer, but as I understand it from my discussions with the Attorney General’s office, without this specific statutory authority, any enforcement actions taken by the board would have less demonstrable grounds should those actions be challenged in the courts.

These proposed changes in no way alter the original intent of the legislation we passed in the last session, but stand as a means to clarify and strengthen the statute we have already put in place.

I appreciate your consideration of these technical changes that will strengthen our law regulating mixed martial arts in Maine, and urge your support of this legislation. I am happy to answer any questions you may have now and will make myself available for the work session on this bill. Thank you for your consideration.