Section 60-1.1 - Definitions
Effective Date
Section 60-1.1 Definitions. As used in this Subpart, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) Administrative fine means a civil penalty imposed by the department on a vendor for WIC program violations under the authority of section 12 of the Public Health Law.
(b) Administrative law judge means a person designated by the Commissioner of Health to conduct hearings under sections 60-1.6, 60-1.10 and 60-1.11 of this Subpart. The commissioner may delegate to the Administrative Law Judge the power to render final decisions in these matters.
(c) Adverse action shall mean the imposition of administrative fines or civil money penalties; suspension or disqualification from authorization to redeem WIC benefits; or denial of authorization to redeem WIC benefits. It shall not mean nonrenewal of a contract, the term of which has expired.
(d) Applicant means a person who submits an application to a local agency for its determination of their eligibility to receive supplemental foods under the WIC program.
(e) Categorically ineligible means not meeting the definition of a pregnant woman, breastfeeding woman, postpartum woman, or infant or child as set forth in subdivision (r) of this section.
(f) Civil money penalty (or CMP) means a fine imposed by the department on a vendor for WIC program violations under the authority of part 246 of title 7 Code of Federal Regulations in lieu of disqualification from the WIC program.
(g) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Health of the State of New York.
(h) Conference means a meeting prior to a request for a fair hearing, between a representative of the department, a local agency or a vendor management agency and an applicant, participant, vendor applicant, or vendor who is aggrieved by the determination or action of such agency, to discuss such determination or action.
(i) Department or State Agency shall mean the New York State Department of Health.
(j) Disqualification means:
(1) for purposes of the participant, the act of ending a participant’s WIC program participation; or
(2) for purposes of the vendor, the act of ending or precluding a vendor’s authorization to redeem WIC benefits for disciplinary reasons; or
(3) for the purposes of an Infant Formula Supplier, the act of revoking approval to supply infant formula to WIC Vendors and/or its removal from the WIC authorized Infant Formula Supplier list.
(k) eWIC means the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system used to issue and redeem WIC benefits in New York State.
(l) eWIC card means the card used to redeem WIC benefits at an authorized vendor.
(m) eWIC stand-beside terminal means point-of-sale equipment including, but not limited to, a barcode scanner, eWIC card reader, PIN pad, and printer provided to a WIC vendor solely for processing eWIC transactions.
(n) Fair hearing means the procedure under sections 60-1.6, 60-1.10 and 60-1.11 of this Subpart by which applicants, participants, vendor applicants and vendors may appeal certain determinations or actions of a local agency, the State agency or a vendor management agency.
(o) Food instrument means an eWIC card, voucher, coupon, or other document which is used to obtain supplemental foods under the WIC program.
(p) Food supplier means any wholesale distributor of food products approved by the WIC program to sell food items to authorized WIC vendors.
(q) Infant formula means a food which purports to be or is represented for special dietary use solely as a food for infants by reason of its simulation of human milk or its suitability as a complete or partial substitute for human milk, as defined in section 201(z) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(z)) and that meets the requirements for an infant formula under section 412 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350a) and the regulations at 21 CFR parts 106 and 107.
(r) Infant formula supplier means any authorized wholesaler who provides infant formula to authorized WIC Vendors.
(s) Local agency means an agency which has contracted with New York State to provide WIC benefits to participants.
(t) Participant means a pregnant woman, a breastfeeding woman for up to one year postpartum, a postpartum woman up to six months following delivery, an infant under one year of age, or a child between one and five years of age, or their authorized representative, who is receiving supplemental foods, food instruments or cash-value vouchers under the WIC program.
(u) Persons with a special nutritional risk condition means pregnant women, infants under six months of age, migrant farm workers and their family members, applicants with emergency referrals and homeless persons.
(v) Personal identification number or PIN means a numeric code used in conjunction with an eWIC card to authenticate a participant’s identity during an eWIC transaction.
(w) Petitioner means an applicant, participant or their authorized representative, vendor applicant, vendor, or food supplier who requests a fair hearing from the department.
(x) Primary account number or PAN means the 16-digit number on the front of an eWIC card.
(y) Respondent means a vendor or food supplier from whom the department seeks an administrative fine or civil money penalty under the provisions of section 60-1.10 of this Subpart.
(z) Termination means the act of discontinuing a WIC vendor’s contract with a vendor management agency for the remainder of the contract period, whether for administrative reasons or for violation of the terms of the contract.
(aa) Vendor means any establishment which accepts WIC food instruments, including eWIC transactions, whether contracted to do so or not.
(ab) Vendor applicant means any establishment that applies or reapplies to be a WIC vendor.
(ac) Vendor management agency or VMA means a local agency that is contracted with the department to perform WIC vendor management activities within a defined geographic area.
(ad) WIC vendor means any retail food store or pharmacy which has a contract in effect with a vendor management agency to supply WIC approved foods and/or infant formula to persons receiving benefits under the WIC program.
(ae) WIC program means the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children authorized by the Federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended.