ALBANY (AP) -- Gov. David Paterson may ask New York's legislature to allow so-called ultimate fighting martial arts contests in the state to raise tax revenue and offset deep cuts in school aid and other funding.
"Ultimate fighting is something we are considering," Paterson said Monday.
The renewed interest in the sometimes maligned sport comes when Paterson has repeatedly said the state's dire fiscal condition requires a search for revenue sources and spending cuts even if they conflict with his ideology.
Mixed martial arts is a multimillion-dollar business that fills arenas, broadcasts events on pay-per-view and has deals with cable networks such as Spike TV, all of which can mean jobs and big tax revenue for cash-strapped states.
The sport, which combines jiujitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling in a cage, has put off some critics with its ferocity, including such tactics as kicks to the head. Thirty-eight states regulate the fights and organizers see New York - and Madison Square Garden - as a major market for contests.
Even as more states consider regulating the sport in part as revenue sources, proposals linger to ban the sport that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, once referred to as "human cockfighting."
In Albany, a measure to legalize mixed martial arts in New York has stalled in the Legislature, opposed by those who say it promotes a culture of violence.
There was no immediate reaction from the Senate and Assembly to Paterson's comment.
Paterson's Jan. 19 budget proposal is expected to be a main event of its own as he picks a fight with the Legislature and powerful special interests over his cuts to long-protected programs, including health care.
He said he doesn't intend to seek another increase in the cigarette tax, but said the Legislature may choose to consider such narrow tax increases to offset deep spending cuts.
"When the budget comes out next week and people see the depths of the cuts we will have to make to balance the budget, if the Legislature wanted to consider any alternatives, I would suggest that the only taxes that would be on the table would be dedicated taxes - a cigarette tax dedicated to health care or something like that," Paterson said.
Paterson will project a $7.5 billion deficit in his 2010-11 state budget proposal to the Legislature next week, but he said the gap could worsen.
"It is not my plan to put any taxes in," Paterson said. "We're not really interested in taxing any further, but if the revenues were to continue to decline ... it would mean heavy, heavy cuts to a lot of services and the major services in the budget."
Paterson has noted school aid and health care account for 55 percent of state spending.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
