Section 60-1.12 - Vendor applicant authorization criteria
Effective Date
60-1.12 Vendor applicant authorization criteria
(a) Any vendor applicant that is a food store (excluding pharmacies) may be authorized via a department approved expirable contract if all Federal requirements set forth in part 246 of title 7 Code of Federal Regulations and all State requirements are met, including current and valid Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) authorization.
(b) Any vendor applicant that is a pharmacy may be authorized via a department approved expirable contract, if all Federal requirements set forth in part 246 of title 7 Code of Federal Regulations and all State requirements are met, including but not limited to:
(1) The applicant pharmacy agrees to order and stock special formulas as requested by the vendor management agency.
(c) The vendor applicant shall have reasonable hours of operation. Reasonable is defined as operating six days per week, eight hours per day.
(d) Applicants for WIC program participation must demonstrate consistency of business integrity. In reaching a determination as to sufficiency of an applicant’s business integrity, the department may rely solely on facts already known to it and representations made by the applicant on its application. Unless denying authorization of an applicant would result in inadequate participant access, the department may not authorize an applicant if during the last six years the applicant or any of the applicant's current owners, officers, or managers have been convicted of or had a civil judgment entered against them for any activity indicating a lack of business integrity. Such activities indicating a lack of business integrity include but are not limited to fraud, antitrust violations, embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, receiving stolen property, making false claims, and obstruction of justice.
(e) If the vendor applicant is located in an area with inadequate participant access as defined by the commissioner and meets the minimum vendor authorization criteria established in section 246.12(g)(3) of title 7 Code of Federal Regulations, the vendor management agency shall authorize the vendor applicant to redeem WIC benefits.
(f) (1) The commissioner may determine “open application” time periods during which any vendor applicant may apply or reapply for authorization to redeem WIC benefits, unless the vendor applicant is found to lack consistency of business integrity, pursuant to subdivision (d) of this section.
(2) At any time, a vendor applicant may apply for authorization to redeem WIC benefits by demonstrating to the commissioner’s satisfaction that:
(i) the vendor applicant will serve 25 or more WIC participants that cannot be properly served by another WIC vendor located within a one-mile radius due to a barrier stemming from language, ethnicity, nationality, or religious belief;
(ii) all the vendor applicant’s stores had at least $5 million in aggregate food sales during the previous year and demonstrate eWIC readiness;
(iii) there exists inadequate participant access, as defined by the commissioner, in the vendor applicant’s area;
(iv) within 60 days prior to application, the vendor applicant acquired a store that was authorized to redeem WIC benefits under previous ownership; or
(v) an otherwise exceptional circumstance exists that warrants such authorization.