The New Jersey legislature is currently reviewing a bill known as the “Fitness Professionals Licensing Act,” which would establish a State Board of Fitness Professionals and charge them with issuing licenses to “exercise facilities,” “fitness professionals,” “group fitness instructors” and “personal trainers.” This bill is creating buzz in several fitness communities because it includes personal trainers, martial arts, Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, boot camp, spinning and any other group fitness instructors in its language—basically anyone who instructs “in exercises designed to improve cardiovascular conditioning, muscular strength, flexibility and weight loss.”

ABOUT THE BILL
The bill, No. A3356, was sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., in October 2008 and can be read in its entirety here. Here are some pertinent highlights for the Pilates community:

• To be eligible for licensure, applicants must:
     — Be of good moral character
     — Have successfully completed high school or its equivalent
     — Have successfully completed an approved course of study of not less than 300 in-person classroom hours, as prescribed by the board, which shall include not less than 50 hours of an unpaid internship in the presence of and under the direct supervision of a licensed fitness professional and have passed an examination administered or approved by the board; or possess an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in physical education, exercise science, exercise physiology or adult fitness.

• Current instructors can bypass the 300 hours if they hold a certification from the National Board of Fitness Examiners, or any organization approved by the board and provide proof of 150 board-approved in-person classroom hours.

• Business that employ fitness professionals must apply and pay for a license every two years.

• Instructors must complete 25 credit hours of continuing education and renew their license every two years.

RESPONSE FROM THE FITNESS COMMUNITY
Most organizations within the industries that would be affected by the bill have taken positions against it for myriad reasons. The Pilates Method Alliance, which has been working to establish professional accredidation standards through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, communicated its position to its members recently. Among other things, the PMA said this legislation ignores the steps toward accredidation that personal training and Pilates organizations have been working toward and would raise the cost of doing business for instructors and the cost of training for consumers.

“Pilates has to have its own standards, its own professional association and its own credential,” wrote PMA Public Policy Advisor Kevin Bowen in an email to members. “Pilates should not be subsumed by any part of the fitness world, but should remain distinct and independent.”

The International Health and Racquet Sports Club Association (IHRSA) is working with a lobbyist to oppose the bill, and an email circulated by Yoga Alliance reports that a group of yogis were able to convince a New Jersey senator to remove “yoga” from the bill, but the current language still mentions yoga so it’s not clear if this will happen. IDEA and the American Council on Exercise are also against the bill.

The legislation is currently under review with the New Jersey legislature’s Regulated Professions Committee. If it passes, the regulations would take effect a year from its passage. If you would like to voice you opinion about this legislation, leave a comment below, or share your thoughts with Representative Roberts.