California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Existing law, the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) , authorizes establishment of a statewide program, administered by the State Department of Public Health, for providing nutritional food supplements to low-income pregnant women, low-income postpartum and lactating women, and low-income infants and children under 5 years of age, who have been determined to be at nutritional risk. The program, which implements a program authorized under existing federal law, provides for the redemption of nutrition coupons by recipients at any authorized retail food vendor. Existing law requires the department to authorize an appropriate number and distribution of WIC Program retail food vendors, and requires the department to establish certain criteria to limit the number of vendors. This bill would require the department, in order to be in compliance with federal law and conditions of federal funding, to take certain actions including adopting mandatory federal requirements and guidelines for the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children as requirements for the WIC Program, and establishing requirements for peer groups and a corresponding reimbursement system, criteria used for vendor authorization, and WIC Program authorized foods. This bill would require the department, in establishing requirements for peer groups and a corresponding reimbursement system, criteria used for vendor authorization, and WIC Program authorized foods, to, among other things, notify and consult with affected stakeholders and provide an opportunity for written comment. This bill would require the department to specify certain criteria the department would use and actions the department would take when initiating a moratorium on new WIC Program vendor location applications. This bill would authorize the department, without taking regulatory action, to implement, interpret, or make specific these criteria or actions by means of a vendor bulletin, as specified. This bill would require the department to seek any federal approvals necessary to implement these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.