SC Bill Would Limit Contracts

COLUMBIA, SC — Clubs in South Carolina may no longer be able to automatically renew contracts if a bill that state legislators recently introduced becomes law. Besides prohibiting automatic renewal of health club contracts, the bill would limit month-to-month club contracts to no more than 12 months and would require month-to-month members to sign a new contract each month.

The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is lobbying members of the South Carolina legislature, telling them that the restrictions “place an undue administrative and financial burden on health clubs and decrease membership options for consumers,” according to IHRSA's Web site.