Section He-P 3205.01 - Selection of Vendors(a) The following procedures shall apply to the selection of vendors for the WIC program: (1) Retail food stores and pharmacies eligible to be authorized shall submit a written application to the department which includes, at a minimum: a. Legal name and physical address of store;b. Billing name and address, if different;c. Business phone number and owner's personal phone number; d. Name(s) of owner(s), type of ownership, and previous ownership(s);f. Owner's e-mail address;g. Name and mailing address of landlord;j. Food establishment class license;l. Number of registers and scanners;m. Annual or estimated sales;n. List of primary WIC food suppliers, including infant formula;o. Current food stamp program identification number and authorization status, including any actions pending or under appeal;p. The full names of any local agency staff who hold dual employment with the store or pharmacy;q. A full disclosure by the owner, partner, officer, or manager of any convictions or civil judgments outlined in He-P 3205.01(b) (14); andr. The full names and mailing addresses of any owners, partners, or principle officers;(2) Vendors shall provide information regarding gross food sales and inventory supplier records for approved foods upon the request by the department in order to evaluate the vendor's eligibility under He-P 3205.01(a) and (b) and 7 CFR 246.12(h) (xv) ; and(3) An on-site review of each new applicant vendor shall be performed by the department in accordance with 7 CFR 246.12(g) (vii) (5) as follows: a. Department employees who hold dual employment with any WIC-authorized or applicant vendor, regardless of capacity, shall not be involved in the review of vendor qualifications for authorization; b. The department shall assess the applicant vendor's qualifications using the selection criteria in accordance with (b) below; andc. The assessment shall include a price inventory in order to determine whether or not the applicant vendor meets the competitive price selection criteria.(b) The department shall deny authorization of an applicant vendor or terminate an authorized vendor if any of the following criteria are true at any time: (1) The store location is not within NH borders;(2) The applicant vendor or authorized vendor does not provide information regarding gross food sales and inventory supplier records upon request by the department in accordance with He-P 3205.02(a) and 7 CFR 246.12(h) (xvi) ;(3) The department determines that the applicant vendor or authorized vendor is not able to meet all program requirements or existing selection criteria as evidenced by: a. Sanction points obtained under He-P 3207.03;b. Category I violations as described in He-P 3207.03(b) ;c. Monitoring requirements in accordance with He-P 3206;d. Failure to attend face-to-face training upon initial application as set forth in 7 CFR 246.12(i) (1) ; ore. Failure to attend face-to-face training as scheduled by the department thereafter as described in He-P 3205.04; (4) The store's annual revenue from sales of WIC-approved food meets the "above 50 percent" threshold, as defined in He-P 3201.01(a) , unless inadequate participant access exists;(5) The applicant vendor or authorized vendor does not purchase all infant formula from the department's approved list of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers;(6) A minimum quantity and variety of foods as listed in the vendor agreement and approved in accordance with He-P 3203.02 and He-P 3203.03 are not available for purchase at a retail food store, even if inadequate participant access would be a result of such denial;(7) The price ranges of foods approved in accordance with He-P 3203.02 and He-P 3203.03 in retail food stores are not comparable to or lower than currently authorized vendors in the same peer group;(8) The applicant vendor or authorized vendor is not open for business at least 9 hours per day, 6 days a week;(9) A conflict of interest exists in that a retail store employee is dually employed by the WIC program;(10) The applicant vendor or authorized vendor has prior, pending, or under appeal WIC or food stamp program disqualifications, civil money penalties, unpaid civil money penalties, or other sanctions;(11) For retail food stores only, the applicant vendor or authorized vendor is not participating in the the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP);(12) The applicant vendor or authorized vendor does not accept, at a minimum, cash for food purchases from the general public as well as WIC participants;(13) The majority of comments and recommendations from local agency staff and participants indicate a negative assessment;(14) In accordance with 7 CFR 246.12(g) (3) (ii) , the current owner(s), officer(s), or manager(s) have been criminally convicted of or had a civil judgment for any of the following in the previous 6 years: g. Falsification or destruction of records;h. Making false statements;i. Receiving stolen property;k. Obstruction of justice; orl. Any other criminal conviction or civil judgment that indicates a lack of business integrity pursuant to 7 CFR 12(g) (3) (ii);(15) The authorized vendor has 5 or more sanction points currently pending, assigned, or under appeal;(16) For retail food stores only, the applicant vendor or authorized vendor does not provide a variety of staple foods for sale including fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables, fresh, frozen, or canned meats, dairy products, and grain products such as bread, rice, and pasta;(17) For retail stores only, the applicant or authorized vendor does not meet the minimum stocking requirements as stated in the WIC vendor agreement;(18) Failure to maintain a card acceptor device that is certified by the State's online eWIC processor to accept and process the eWIC card using either a stand-beside POS terminal or an Integrated Electronic Cash Register System; (19) Transactions are not performed in accordance with published operating rules, standards, and technical requirements for WIC EBT to include the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) "ANSI X9.93-2014" (Part 1 and Part 2) and by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, "WIC-Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Guidance and Resources" https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-electronic-benefits-transfer-ebt-guidance, available as noted in Appendix A;(20) For retail food stores only, the vendor's monthly average volume of WIC business over the most recent 12 months is less than $200.00 and another authorized vendor is located within 2 miles, unless inadequate participant access is determined as defined in He-P 3201.01(w) ; (21) The department determines that the store location was sold or had a change in ownership to circumvent a WIC sanction in accordance with 7 CFR 246.12(g) (6) ;(22) The vendor or store owner has prior, pending, or under appeal disqualifications or sanctions by other US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service Programs; or(23) The applicant vendor provides false or misleading information on the vendor application or other required program documents.(c) Pending or current disqualification from or sanction by other US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service Programs or failure to meet rules or standards of another state agency or local health agency which results in suspension of license shall constitute sole grounds for denial of authorization.(d) A store that has been denied authorization initially or terminated during the course of a current agreement period based on (b) or (c) above shall not reapply for the later of the following: (1) A minimum of 6 months from the date of vendor receipt of the department's notice; or(2) Six months from the date of an appeal decision upholding the department's decision to deny authorization or terminate.N.H. Admin. Code § He-P 3205.01
#4518, eff 10-28-88; EXPIRED 10-28-94
New. #6226, eff 4-24-96; ss by #7489, eff 5-11-01; ss by #7774, eff 10-8-02; ss by #9556, eff 10-1-09
Amended byVolume XXXIV Number 19, Filed May 8, 2014, Proposed by #10583, Effective 10/1/2014, Expires10/1/2024.Amended by Volume XXXIX Number 37, Filed September 12, 2019, Proposed by #12858, Effective 8/23/2019, Expires 8/23/2029.