Or. Admin. Code § 333-054-0010

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 11, November 1, 2024

Section 333-054-0010 - Definitions

(1) "A50" means an authorized vendor or applicant that derives, or is expected to derive, more than 50 percent of its total annual food sales from WIC food sales. The total food sales do not include alcohol, tobacco, lottery or any other non-food item.

(2) "Abbreviated administrative review" means a hearing that is held at the request of a vendor that has been issued an application denial, civil money penalty, civil penalty, or sanction by the Authority. Abbreviated reviews are facilitated by the Authority staff other than the staff person that imposed the sanction. A facilitated discussion is held in order to resolve the imposition of a sanction.

(3) "Adequate participant access" means there are authorized vendors sufficient for participant need using Authority criteria in OAR 333-054-0060.

(4) "Annual Food Sales" means sales of all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligible foods intended for home preparation and consumption including meat, fish, and poultry; bread and cereal products; dairy products; and fruits and vegetables. Food items such as condiments and spices, coffee, tea, cocoa, and carbonated and non-carbonated drinks may be included in food sales when offered for sale along with foods in the categories identified above. Food sales do not include sales of any items that cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits, such as hot foods or food that will be eaten in the store.

(5) "Applicant" means any person, or person with an interest in the business, making a written request for authorization to participate in the WIC Program, including vendors and farmers that reapply for authorization.

(6) "Authority" means the Oregon Health Authority.

(7) "Authorization" means the process by which the Authority assesses, selects, and enters into agreements with stores and farmers that apply or subsequently reapply to be vendors or authorized farmers.

(8) "Authorized food" means any supplemental foods approved by the Oregon WIC Program and listed on the WIC Authorized Food List or food instrument.

(9) "Authorized shopper" means the participant or any person designated by a participant who has been documented as such to act on the participant's behalf and, in the case of an infant or child, the caretaker or the caretaker's designee. This includes any representative posing as a participant or participant designee as authorized by the Authority.

(10) "CFR" means Code of Federal Regulations.

(11) "CMP" means civil money penalty.

(12) "Cash Value Benefit" or "CVB" means a fixed-dollar benefit on a check, voucher, electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card or other document which is used by an authorized shopper to obtain WIC authorized fruits and vegetables.

(13) "Compliance buy" means a single covert, on-site visit in which an Authority authorized representative poses as an authorized shopper and attempts to transact, or transacts, one or more food instruments.

(14) "Disqualification" means cancelling the WIC program participation of a vendor or farmer, as a punitive action.

(15) "EBT" means Electronic Benefit Transfer.

(16) "Educational buy" means a single, on-site visit used for training purposes in which an Authority authorized representative poses as an authorized shopper, redeems WIC food instruments, and provides the vendor with immediate feedback about compliance with WIC procedures.

(17) "Expired food" means WIC-authorized food or formula that is defective, spoiled, or has exceeded its sell by, best if used by, or other date on the package limiting the sale or use of the food or formula.

(18) "Farmer" means an individual who owns, leases, rents or sharecrops land to grow, cultivate or harvest crops on that land.

(19) "Farmer agreement" means a standard written legal contract between the farmer and the Authority that sets forth responsibilities of the parties.

(20) "FNS" means the Food and Nutrition Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

(21) "Food instrument" or "FI" means a WIC Program electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card which is used to obtain authorized foods.

(22) "Full administrative review" means a formal hearing that is held before an assigned administrative law judge from the state Office of Administrative Hearings in accordance with 7 CFR § 246.18 and ORS chapter 183.

(23) "Incentive item" means a food or non-food item offered free of charge to WIC shoppers, but not other shoppers, or eligibility to receive an item is structured where the majority of those meeting the criteria are WIC shoppers, to motivate them to shop at a particular store. Examples of incentive items include, but are not limited to, cash gifts/prizes in any amount for any reason, lottery tickets, transportation, sales/specials such as a buy-one-get-one free or free additional ounces offer not offered to other shoppers, and other free food or merchandise not offered to other shoppers.

(24) "Inventory audit" means an examination of food invoices or other proofs of vendor purchases to determine whether a vendor has purchased sufficient quantities of authorized foods to support the vendor's claim for reimbursement for such foods from the Authority during a specific period of time.

(25) "Investigation" means a period of review, beginning with the start of an inventory audit or the first compliance buy and closing when the audit has been completed or a sufficient number of compliance buys have been completed to provide evidence of compliance or non-compliance, not to exceed 24 months, to determine a vendor or farmer's compliance with program rules and procedures.

(26) "Local agency" means:

(a) A public or private nonprofit health or human services agency that provides health services, either directly or through contract, in accordance with 7 CFR § 246.5;

(b) An Indian Health Service unit;

(c) An Indian tribe, band or group recognized by the Department of the Interior which operates a health clinic or is provided health services by an Indian Health Service unit; or

(d) An intertribal council or group that is an authorized representative of Indian tribes, bands or groups recognized by the Department of the Interior, which operates a health clinic or is provided health services by an Indian Health Service unit.

(27) "Notice of Non-compliance" means a letter notifying vendors when they commit a program violation. This notice is an explanation of the violation and a warning about repercussions of subsequent violations.

(28) "Overcharge" means intentionally or unintentionally charging the Authority more for authorized foods than the actual shelf price or the price charged to other shoppers.

(29) "Participant" means any pregnant woman, breastfeeding woman, post-partum non-lactating woman, infant or child who has been certified to receive benefits from the WIC Program.

(30) "Pattern" means three or more findings of the same rule violation that occurs within a single investigation or over the course of one or more routine monitoring(s).

(31) "Peer group" means a group of vendors considered to be in the same category by the Authority based on factors such as store type, size or business model, number of cash registers and geography.

(32) "Person" means a human being, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a Limited Liability Corporation, a sole proprietor, a government or a governmental instrumentality.

(33) "Person with an interest in the business" means an officer, director, partner, or manager of the business or a shareholder with 10 percent interest or more in the business.

(34) "Pharmacy - in-store" means a pharmacy that is located within a WIC authorized grocery store and is affiliated with that business entity.

(35) "Pharmacy - stand alone" means a pharmacy that is operated independently from or is not located in a WIC authorized grocery store.

(36) "Price adjustment" means an adjustment made by the Authority, in accordance with the vendor/farmer agreement, to the amount paid to the vendor/farmer on a food purchase, to ensure that the payment complies with the Authority price limitations.

(37) "Prominently displayed" means immediately noticeable by persons entering the vendor or farmer location.

(38) "Routine monitoring" means an overt, on-site visit in which the Authority authorized representatives or federal officials identify themselves to vendor or farm personnel.

(39) "Shelf Price Survey" or "SPS" means a tool used by the Authority to collect a sample of a WIC authorized vendor's current shelf prices.

(40) "SNAP" means the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the Food and Nutrition Services of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This program was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program or "FSP."

(41) "Termination" means the cancellation of a vendor or farmer agreement which may or may not be linked to a disqualification.

(42) "Trafficking" means buying or selling WIC food instruments for cash.

(43) "U.S.C." means United States Code.

(44) "Unauthorized food item" means foods, brands and sizes not allowed on the WIC Authorized Food List. It also means foods not specified on a food instrument as eligible for purchase for that participant, with WIC benefits.

(45) "Vendor" means the current owner(s) or any person with an interest in the business, of any retail store location that is currently authorized by the Authority to participate in the WIC Program. Vendor may also refer to the authorized store location.

(46) "Vendor agreement" means a standard written legal contract between the vendor and the Authority that sets forth responsibilities of the parties.

(47) "Vendor Price List" means a form containing current authorized foods with current shelf prices completed by the vendor and submitted to the Authority and in which vendors document their shelf prices at the time of the application process.

(48) "Violation" means an activity that is prohibited by OAR 333-054-0000 through 333-054-0070 and is classified in OAR 333-054-0050 and 333-054-0055.

(49) "WIC Authorized Food List" means the supplemental foods approved by the State of Oregon.

(50) "WIC food benefit" means supplemental foods issued to a participant for purchase at an authorized vendor.

(51) "WIC Program" or "WIC" means the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) authorized by Section 17 of the Federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1786.

Or. Admin. Code § 333-054-0010

HD 7-1993, f. & cert. ef. 6-11-93; HD 31-1994, f. & cert. ef. 12-22-94; OHD 17-2001, f. 8-02-01, cert. ef. 8-15-01; OHD 22-2002, f. & cert. ef. 12-24-02; PH 19-2003(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 11-14-03 thru 5-12-04; PH 22-2003, f. 12-31-03, cert. ef. 1-5-04; PH 7-2005(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 5-2-05 thru 10-28-05; PH 16-2005, f. & cert. ef. 10-28-05; PH 30-2006, f. & cert. ef. 12-27-06; PH 5-2009, f. & cert. ef. 6-1-09; PH 5-2011(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 7-1-11 thru 12-27-11; PH 9-2011, f. & cert. ef. 9-30-11; PH 11-2013, f. 11-6-13, cert. ef. 12-1-13; PH 25-2015, f. 12-8-15, cert. ef. 1/1/2016; PH 251-2018, amend filed 09/04/2018, effective 10/1/2018

Publications: Publications referenced are available from the agency.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 413.500

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 413.500