BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 374|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 374
Author: Calderon (D)
Amended: 4/2/09
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF & ECON DEVLOP COMM : 7-2, 4/13/09
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Wyland, Corbett, Florez, Oropeza,
Romero, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa
SUBJECT : Health care providers: personal trainers
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill defines the term personal trainer,
establishes educational and training requirements for
personal trainers and prohibits individuals from calling
themselves personal trainers unless they meet those
requirements.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Provides for the licensure and regulation of physical
therapists and physical therapy assistants by the
Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC) within the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
2.Defines the practice of physical therapy as the art and
science of physical or corrective rehabilitation or of
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physical or corrective treatment of any bodily or mental
condition of any person by the use of the physical,
chemical and other properties of heat, light, water,
electricity, sound, massage and active, passive and
resistive exercise, including physical therapy
evaluation, treatment planning, instruction and
consultative services.
3.Provides for the licensure and regulation of occupational
therapists and occupational therapy assistants by the
California Board of Occupational Therapy (CBOT) within
the Department of Consumer Affairs.
4.Define the practice of occupational therapy, in part, as
the therapeutic use of purposeful and meaningful
goal-directed activities which engage the individual's
body and mind in meaningful, organized and self-directed
actions that maximize independence, prevent or minimize
disability and maintain health.
This bill:
1.Prohibits an individual from representing him or herself
as or using the title of personal trainer unless one of
the two following requirements is met:
A. The person has a bachelor's degree in
exercise science, kinesiology, fitness science or
another closely related field.
B. The person is certified by one of the
following:
i) A national organization whose personal trainer
certification procedures are approved by the
National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
ii) An organization accredited by either the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation or by
the United States Department of Education.
2.Specifies that "to hold himself or herself out as a, or
use the title of, personal trainer" means to state or
advertise or put out any sign, card or other device, or
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to represent to the public through any print or
electronic media, that he or she is a personal trainer.
3.Defines "personal trainer" as an individual who has
expertise in developing and implementing physical fitness
and training programs for individuals and who provides
those services for a fee to individuals or through an
organization (i.e. a fitness center) that is compensated
for making personal training services available.
4.Excludes the following from the personal trainer
definition:
A. Individuals who provide training in a
particular discipline (i.e. yoga or pilates)
B. Individuals who provide training on a
particular piece of equipment or device such as a
bicycle but does not include proving advice or
assistance on other aspects of physical fitness and
training such as body weight management,
cardiovascular fitness, endurance and overall
muscle and strength development.
Background
In 2002 and 2003, then Assemblymember Lowenthal introduced
legislation on behalf of the California Athletic Trainers
Association (CATA) proposing licensure for athletic
trainers. AB 2789 (2001-02 Session) was amended to require
a study of the issue before being held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee suspense file. AB 614, (2003-04
Session) was held in Senate Business and Professions
Committee to allow the Joint Committee on Boards,
Commissions and Consumer Protection (Joint Committee) to
examine whether athletic trainers should be licensed as
part of the "sunrise" process.
In compliance with the sunrise process, CATA completed and
submitted the extensive "sunrise questionnaire" in support
of its proposal for licensure. The athletic trainer
sunrise proposal was heard by the Joint Committee in
January 2005. Following this hearing, the Joint Committee
voted unanimously, in April 2005, to reject full licensure
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of athletic trainers, but suggested as part of this
recommendation that some form of recognition of athletic
trainers, such as title protection, may be appropriate.
In 2005, Senator Lowenthal introduced SB 1397 which would
have enacted the Athletic Trainers Certification Act, which
prohibited a person from representing him/herself as an
athletic trainer unless he/she is certified as an athletic
trainer by an athletic training organization. The bill
would have regulated the practice of athletic training by
requiring all individuals who use the title athletic
trainer to meet specific education standards, pass a
certification exam, complete continuing education and
register with an athletic training organization. The
measure also made it an unfair business practice for a
registered athletic trainer to advertise or publicly
represent he or she is "state certified" or "state
registered" as an athletic trainer by the State of
California. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the measure
claiming "there is no evidence that the existing
unregulated status of athletic trainers poses any threat to
the public health and safety" and this measure would place
unnecessary regulatory burdens on the athletic training
profession.
In the sunrise questionnaire, CATA indicated that there
about 2,200 certified athletic trainers in California.
Only those athletic trainers who have been certified by the
Omaha-based Board of Certification (an affiliate of the
National Athletic Trainers Association) are permitted to
use the terms certified athletic trainer" or "athletic
trainer, certified." The Board of Certification certifies
athletic trainers who have met the qualifications and
passed a national written examination. To sit for the
exam, applicants for certification as an athletic trainer
must have completed a bachelor degree program in an
athletic training educational program accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education
Programs. In 2005, there were 12 accredited entry level
athletic training education programs in California, as well
as one graduate level program and an additional six
entry-level programs in candidacy for accreditation. Most
of the accredited programs are in the California State
University system.
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The majority of certified athletic trainers in California
are employed in school settings, including four-year
colleges and universities, community colleges, and high
schools. Professional sports teams, clinics, hospitals
industrial settings or private health clubs employ the
rest.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/15/09)
- - -
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill is needed to protect consumers from untrained
physical trainers. The author states there are many
reports of injury ranging from pulled muscles to internal
organ damage in the personal training arena and consumers
should have the right to know the level of education and
training prospective trainers have before hiring one. He
also believes trainers that have a high level of education
and training should be able to differentiate themselves
from fly by night instructors.
The author states, "The term personal trainer can mean
someone with any level of training or education- including
NO real training or education. Depending on the gym,
personal trainers can be experts on the body and have
extensive education, or can be trainers with little to no
real knowledge about how the body works and responds to
certain diets and exercise. This can expose unwitting
customers to trainers to push the customer too hard or to
do exercises that are not appropriate and can actually do
permanent harm to the person being trained. Cases of
abuses including blown-out knees, injured backs and torn
muscles are unfortunately not uncommon. While some
injuries cannot be planned for or easily avoided, many
could have been prevented if the trainer in question had
thorough knowledge of the body and its movement."
Because the term personal trainer is currently not defined
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or regulated by the state, and there are not any minimum
standards or requirements for an individual to call him or
herself a personal trainer, the Author argues this measure
will require a reasonable amount of training or education
to ensure a level of knowledge that will protect consumers
from harm and injuries.
JA:nl 4/15/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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