Thursday, April 09, 2009
Update: Personal Trainer Licensing Bill in New Jersey
Previously I reported on the NJ Senate Bill 2164 – the Personal Trainer Licensing Act - which would have required fitness instructors to jump through a lot of hoops to obtain a license before becoming a personal trainer.
While not readily known, this bill would also have also spelled trouble for other members of the fitness community including those who teach Pilates, cycling, group fitness classes and others. To read my original post on this act click here.
Recently I discovered that Senate Bill 2164 is being scraped, so NJ health clubs and fitness instructors can breath a sigh of relief. There is no guarantee that this issue will not resurface in the future so this is all the more reason for health club owners and fitness instructors to take part in their local and state governments.
How many of the people from New Jersey reading these words right now who were aware of the proposed regulation did anything about it? How many called the senator responsible for Senate Bill 2164 to voice their opinion (positive or negative)? Judging from the emails I received after my original posting on this issue, not many. If I am correct, and not many did anything, then I know this bill will be resurrected at some point in the future. Only time will tell if I am correct.
For more information on this issue read what Dan Gaita has to say by clicking here
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Actually Joe, I wrote to the senator's office about it and got a very nice letter back from Senator Paul A. Sarlo. He thanked me for taking the time to contact him in regards to the Senate Bill 2164 and explained to me that the intent of the bill is to "protect consumers in NJ from poorly trained or incompetent personal trainers." He stated that he will "not be proceeding with Senate Bill 2164 in its current form. However, will be introducing a new bill that will provide for a certification of personal trainers in NJ." He also mentioned that there are "adequate grand fathering provisions in place to protect currently employed personal trainers." I was so excited when I received the letter. If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey Kelli
ReplyDeletethanks for the feedback. Yes, Ive heard about NJ not proceeding with Senate Bill 2164 in its current form. I, like most everybody else, am in favor of keeping incompetent personal trainers out of the industry. But, I also see this as a way for other organizations to capitalize on it which in turn would probably raise the cost of gym memberships and create more red tape which I'm not a fan of. We will have to wait and see what happens.