Sec. 702.353. EXEMPTION FROM ESCROW REQUIREMENT. (a) A certificate holder is not required to deposit prepayments in an escrow account under Section 702.352 if:

(1) the certificate holder has operated at least one health spa in the state for not less than two years before the date the certificate holder first sells a membership in the health spa that is the subject of the exemption; and

(2) except as provided by Subsection (b):

(A) litigation has not been initiated against the certificate holder by a member of a health spa owned or operated by the certificate holder relating to the closing of the health spa or the failure of the health spa to open; and

(B) a member of a health spa has not filed a complaint with a governmental authority in this state against the certificate holder, or an owner, officer, or director of a health spa owned or operated by the certificate holder, relating to the closing of the health spa or the failure of the health spa to open.

(b) The initiation of litigation or filing of a complaint against a certificate holder, or an owner, officer, or director of a health spa owned or operated by the certificate holder, does not preclude the certificate holder from claiming an exemption under Subsection (a) if the basis of the litigation or complaint is that the certificate holder's health spa closed:

(1) as a result of a natural disaster and the closing did not exceed one month; or

(2) to relocate the health spa to a location not more than 10 miles from its location preceding the relocation and the closing did not exceed one month.

(c) The number of exemptions that a certificate holder may claim under Subsection (a) during a two-year period may not exceed twice the number of health spas operated by the certificate holder on the first day of that two-year period.

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.