Cheer for a Winning Year!
This happened again last year: there were numerous proposals to limit
clubs’ use of automatic-renewal clauses in service contracts and a rash
of attempts to require the licensing of personal trainers.
The 2009 Scoreboard: 21 – 0
Thanks to the strong advocacy efforts of IHRSA-member club operators,
and the financial support of the Industry Defense Fund (IDF), which
financed professional lobbying efforts in state capital battlegrounds, the
association was successful in protecting the industry from stifling taxation
and excessive consumer-protection regulation. By mid-September, when
most state legislatures had adjourned for the year, IHRSA had racked up a
perfect record in its legislative battles.
Victories were achieved that involved a wide variety of issues and in
every region of the country. The association derailed attempts by four
states to levy a sales tax on club dues (currently, only a Pennsylvania
proposal remains unresolved); defeated an Oregon initiative to give local
“
this is an
governments the right to license clubs; advanced legislation in Colorado
and Michigan that would promote wellness programs; and ensured that
incredible victory…
a club’s responsibility to maintain an automated external defibrillator
(AED) doesn’t compromise its operations or increase its legal liability.
a testament to
Furthermore, with respect to proposed constraints on automatic-renewal
clauses in membership contracts, IHRSA prevailed over the efforts of
the power of
lawmakers in Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, South
Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin.
working together.
The association’s performance in 2009 was noteworthy in that it also
”
focused on the relatively new issue of personal-trainer licensure. Though
these accomplishments aren’t reflected in its 21-0 stats, IHRSA was
successful, during the past legislative session, in protecting the industry
from oppressive licensing requirements in California, Maryland, Massa-
chusetts, and New Jersey.
The risk of unnecessary licensing requirements emerged as an issue
early in this decade, and the threat materialized when Georgia passed
such legislation in 2006. IHRSA responded by formulating a recommen-
dation that clubs ensure the professionalism of their trainers by hiring
ones holding either: a current certification from a certifying body that had
obtained or begun third-party accreditation of its certification procedures
from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA); or earned
a personal-training certificate/degree from an educational institution
approved by an accreditation body recognized by the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation and/or the U.S. Department of Education.
A Case Study in victory
One of IHRSA’s major triumphs with respect to new taxes occurred in
New York. At the end of 2008, with the state facing a multi-billion-dollar
deficit, Governor David Paterson (D) proposed his 2009-2010 executive
budget. Among the laundry list of measures he recommended to raise
revenue was an expansion of the sales tax to include health club fees and
other “recreational services.”
During the winter and spring, the association battled the proposal in
every possible venue and on every possible level. It launched an effective
grassroots campaign that resulted in more than 2,400 fitness professionals
and club members dispatching nearly 8,000 messages to legislators in the
IHRSa President and Ceo Joe Moore
60
Club Business International | JANUARY 2010 |
www.ihrsa.org
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