(a) Each individual place of business of each health club shall obtain a license from the Department of Consumer Protection prior to the sale of any health club contract. Application for such license shall be made on forms provided by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and said commissioner shall require as a condition to the issuance and renewal of any license obtained under this chapter (1) that the applicant provide for and maintain on the premises of the health club sanitary facilities; (2) that the application be accompanied by (A) a license or renewal fee of two hundred fifty dollars, (B) a list of the equipment and each service which the applicant intends to have available for use by buyers during the year of operations following licensure or renewal, and (C) two copies of each health club contract which the applicant is currently using or intends to use; and (3) compliance with the requirements of section 21a-226. Such licenses shall be renewed annually. The commissioner may impose a civil penalty of not more than three hundred dollars against any health club that continues to sell or offer for sale health club contracts for any location but fails to submit a license renewal and license renewal fee for such location not later than thirty days after such license's expiration date.

(b) No health club shall (1) engage in any act or practice which is in violation of or contrary to the provisions of this chapter or any regulation adopted to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including the use of contracts which do not conform to the requirements of this chapter, or (2) engage in conduct of a character likely to mislead, deceive or defraud the buyer, the public or the commissioner. The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may refuse to grant or renew a license to, or may suspend or revoke the license of, any health club which engages in any conduct prohibited by this chapter.

(c) If the commissioner refuses to grant or renew a license of any health club, the commissioner shall notify the applicant or licensee of the refusal, and of his right to request a hearing within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice of refusal. If the applicant or licensee requests a hearing within ten days, the commissioner shall give notice of the grounds for his refusal and shall conduct a hearing concerning such refusal in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 concerning contested matters.

(d) The Attorney General at the request of the Commissioner of Consumer Protection is authorized to apply in the name of the state of Connecticut to the Superior Court for an order temporarily or permanently restraining and enjoining any health club from operating in violation of any provision of this chapter.

(P.A. 76-262, S. 8; P.A. 77-585, S. 7; P.A. 78-116, S. 1; P.A. 82-50, S. 3, 4; P.A. 83-292, S. 2, 3; P.A. 84-531, S. 7; P.A. 94-36, S. 31, 42; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c), (d); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 05-158, S. 7; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 287.)

History: P.A. 77-585 deleted obsolete reference to obtaining license “on or before November 1, 1976”, required as condition of licensure maintenance of sanitary facilities and added Subsecs. (b) and (c) re refusal, suspension or revocation of license and re court orders; P.A. 78-116 deleted reference to shower facilities in Subsec. (a); P.A. 82-50 amended Subsec. (a) by specifically requiring owners of more than one health club to obtain a license for each establishment; Sec. 19-341h transferred to Sec. 21a-223 in 1983; P.A. 83-292 added bond requirement for issuance or renewal of license; P.A. 84-531 specified, in Subsec. (a), that health clubs must be licensed before they sell any contracts, deleted provisions re posting of surety bond, added exception to $200 fee for clubs commencing operation after April first, required that license applications be accompanied by a list of equipment and services and required compliance with Sec. 21a-226, amended Subsec. (b) to prohibit violation of chapter provisions and associated regulations and to prohibit conduct likely to mislead, deceive or defraud buyers, added Subsec. (c) re procedure for notification of refusal to grant or renew license, relettering former Subsec. (c) as (d) and substituting reference to court orders to prevent health clubs from violating chapter provisions rather than to prevent them from operating without license or preopening sales permit; P.A. 94-36 amended Subsec. (a) to eliminate prorated license application fees and the “October first” license renewal date, effective January 1, 1995; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Commissioner and Department of Consumer Protection with Commissioner and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 05-158 amended Subsec. (a) to change requirement from a list of “each piece of” equipment to a list of “the” equipment in Subdiv. (2)(B) and to authorize commissioner to impose a civil penalty against any health club that fails to submit a license renewal for a health club location for which health club contracts are sold or offered for sale, and made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2005; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a)(2)(A) to increase license or renewal fee from $200 to $250.

See Sec. 21a-10(b) re staggered schedule for license renewals.