La. Admin. Code tit. 48 § V-4503

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-4503 - Vendor Selection Criteria

A. As outlined in 7 CFR part 246, LA WIC has the responsibility to maximize the use of available funds by providing WIC-approved food items to WIC participants at the most reasonable prices and to have an agreement with enough vendors to ensure adequate participant access. LA WIC reserves the right to implement limiting criteria on vendors statewide in order to meet this responsibility. If LA WIC elects to implement such limiting criteria, the criteria shall be made available and applied consistently.

B. WIC federal regulations at 7 CFR § 246.12 mandate that state WIC agencies must develop and implement selection criteria to select only qualified vendors to provide WIC-approved food items to WIC participants. Specific vendor selection criteria must be addressed while allowing WIC state agencies to identify additional vendor selection criteria to further enhance services to WIC participants.

C. LA WIC has established vendor selection criteria in conjunction with and with approval from the USDA. The vendor selection criteria are published within this Subpart and in the vendor rules and regulations.

D. In order to be eligible to participate in LA WIC, the vendor applicant, including any of the vendor applicant's current owners, officers, or managers and/or vendors shall:

1. stock and maintain sufficient quantities and varieties of all WIC approved food items in accordance with LA WIC's minimum stock requirements (MSR). See 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(3)(i);

2. not have been convicted of or had a civil judgment entered against them for any activity indicating a lack of business integrity during the last six years. Activities indicating a lack of business integrity include 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 [see 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(3)(ii)];

3. not be currently disqualified from SNAP or have been assessed a SNAP Civil Money Penalty (CMP) for hardship and the disqualification period that would have otherwise been imposed has not expired. [see 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(3)(iii)];

4. have prices that are competitive with other vendors in LA WIC's designated peer group, as determined by the LA WIC's competitive price criteria (CPC). All vendors are subject to CPC at all times to ensure cost containment. Applying vendors, whose prices are higher than the CPC applicable to their peer groups, shall be informed and given one opportunity to lower their prices to meet the CPC. [see 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(4)];

5. purchase infant formula only from vendors included on LA WIC's list of infant formula manufacturers registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that provide infant formula, and licensed infant formula wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. This list can be found on the LA WIC website at ldh.la.gov/wicvendor;

6. not derive or expect to derive more than 50 percent of annual food sales revenue from WIC transactions. [see 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(4)(i).];

7. agree to be placed in a vendor peer group with other above-50-percent (A-50) vendors when deriving or expecting to derive more than 50 percent of their annual food sales revenue from WIC transactions. Vendors within this peer group shall maintain WIC approved food item prices at a level such that the average payments for A-50 vendors does not exceed average payments to regular vendors; [see 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(4)(i)(A).];

8. agree to neither provide nor advertise nor indicate an intent to provide customers with any incentive items, when deriving or expecting to derive more than 50 percent of their annual food sales revenue from WIC transactions. LA WIC shall make a determination on what constitutes a violation of the meaning of the previous sentence; however, incentive items definitively prohibited include, but are not necessary limited to:

a. goods and services which result in a conflict of interest or the appearance of such conflict for the A-50 vendor, such as assistance with applying for WIC;

b. lottery tickets at no charge or below face value;

c. cash gifts in any amount for any reason;

d. anything made available in a public area as a complimentary gift which may be consumed or taken without charge;

e. an allowable incentive item provided more than once per customer per shopping visit, regardless of the number of customers or WIC benefits involved, unless the incentive items have been obtained by the vendor at no cost or the total value of multiple incentive items provided during one shopping visit would not be exceed the less-than-$2 nominal limit;

f. food, merchandise or services of greater than less-than-$2 nominal value provided to the customer;

g. food, merchandise sold to customers below cost, or services purchased by customers below fair market value;

h. any kind of incentive item which incurs a liability for the WIC program; and

i. any kind of prohibited incentive item which violates any federal, state, or local law or regulations.

9. have EBT capability; and

10. in addition to the above, shall adhere to any and all vendor selection criteria within the vendor rules and regulations and any changes thereto. [see 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(3)].

E. WIC federal regulations at 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(3) mandate that LA WIC shall not authorize a vendor applicant if LA WIC determines the store has been sold by its previous owner in an attempt to circumvent a WIC sanction.

F. After WIC authorization, all vendors shall continue to meet the criteria of this Section and vendor rules and regulations, and any changes thereto, at all times. A vendor found to be out of compliance with vendor rules and regulations any time during the authorization period is subject to termination of WIC authorization and the vendor agreement and possible disqualification.

G. WIC federal regulations at 7 CFR § 246.12(g)(8) allow LA WIC to establish timeframes for accepting and processing the vendor application, outside of which LA WIC may deny authorization. Such timeframes are stated in the vendor guide and policy manual.

La. Admin. Code tit. 48, § V-4503

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Preventive Health Services, LR 13:246 (April 1987), Amended by the Department of Health, Office of Public Health, LR 43337 (2/1/2017), Amended LR 491404 (8/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:972.