DAR File No. 37542

Workforce Services, Housing and Community Development

Rule R990-101

Qualified Emergency Food Agencies Fund (QEFAF)

Notice of Proposed Rule

(Amendment)

DAR File No.: 37542
Filed: 04/25/2013 10:46:23 AM

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The purpose of this amendment is to describe what poundage is eligible for distributions from the Qualified Emergency Food Agencies Fund (QEFAF).

Summary of the rule or change:

This proposed amendment makes many nonsubstantive changes to clean up the rule and correct citations. It also provides for what claims can be paid from the QEFAF.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

• Section 35A-1-104
• Section 35A-8-1004
• Subsection 35A-1-104(4)

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

There will be no costs or savings to the state budget as these changes merely explain applicable state law. It is anticipated that the amount of funds paid will remain the same and in any event, will be within current funding levels.

local governments:

There will be no costs or savings to any local government to comply with this change as this rule reflects current state law.

small businesses:

There will be no costs or savings to any small business as these changes reflect current state law and Department practice.

persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:

There will be no costs or savings to persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local government entitles because these proposed amendments reflect current law and practices.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no compliance costs associated with these changes for any affected persons because this is a federally-funded program and there are no fees or costs associated with these proposed changes.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

There are no compliance costs associated with this change. There are no fees associated with this change. There will be no cost to anyone to comply with these changes. There will be no fiscal impact on any business.

John Pierpont, Executive Director

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Workforce Services
Housing and Community Development
140 E BROADWAY
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84111-2333

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

• Suzan Pixton at the above address, by phone at 801-526-9645, by FAX at 801-526-9211, or by Internet E-mail at spixton@utah.gov

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

06/14/2013

This rule may become effective on:

06/21/2013

Authorized by:

Jon Pierpont, Executive Director

R990. Workforce Services, Housing and Community Development.

R990-101. Qualified Emergency Food Agencies Fund (QEFAF).

R990-101-1. Designation as a Qualified Emergency Food Fund Agency.

[A.](1) A qualified emergency food agency, hereinafter referred to as Qualified Agency, is an organization that is[:];

(a) exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code[;], or

(b) an association of governments or a municipality which, as part of its activities operates a program that has as the program's primary purpose to;

(i) warehouse and distribute food to other agencies and organizations providing food and food ingredients to low-income persons[;], or

(ii) provide food and food ingredients directly to low-income persons.

(2) For initial designation as a Qualified Agency, an organization [shall]must file an application with, and must be approved by, the State Community Services Office (SCSO) [and must be approved as a qualified emergency food agency] before receiving distributions under Utah Code Section [9-4-1409]35A-8-1009. The application form and instructions are available on the SCSO Website at http://housing.utah.gov/scso/qefaf.[html]

[B.](3) After initial designation as a [qualified emergency food agency]Qualified Agency, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization must maintain a current Charitable Solicitations Permit issued by the Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Consumer Protection per Utah Code Section 13-22-6 or be exempt under Utah Code Section 13-22-8. An association of governments or a municipality must continue to operate a program which has, as the program's primary purpose to [i) ]warehouse and distribute food to other agencies and organizations providing food and food ingredients to low-income persons; or [ii) ]provide food and food ingredients directly to low-income persons.

[C.](4) All entities applying to be designated as a Qualified Agency[organizations shall]must submit a [current Board Roster]list of current members of its Board of Directors and contact information for the individual primarily responsible for maintaining the organization's financial records. This information should be submitted with the signed copies of the Memorandum of Understanding each year.

 

R990-101-2. Use of Funds.

Funds received from the [Qualified Emergency Food Agency Fund]QEFAF program must be expended by the Qualified Agency only for purposes related to[: a) ]warehousing and distributing food and food ingredients to other agencies and organizations providing food and food ingredients to low-income persons[; or b)], or providing food and food ingredients directly to low-income persons.

 

R990-101-3. Allowable Expenditures.

[A.](1) Warehousing - Expenditures directly related to receiving, sorting, weighing, handling, and storing of food and food ingredients, including direct staff costs for warehousing activities, scales, fork lifts, pallet jacks, shelving, refrigeration equipment, supplies for food storage, and space costs associated with the warehousing activity such as utilities, insurance, cleaning supplies, pest control, and minor repairs and maintenance.

[B.](2) Distributing - Expenditures directly related to packaging and transporting food and food ingredients to other agencies and organizations which provide food and food ingredients to qualified low-income individuals and households, including direct staff costs, transportation equipment costs such as refrigeration units, insurance on vehicles used exclusively to pick up and drop off food and food ingredients, fuel, licensing, repairs and maintenance.

[C.](3) Providing - Expenditures directly related to providing food and food ingredients directly to low-income individuals and households, including direct staff costs for client intake, case management, meal preparation and/or delivery of meals to home-bound clients or congregate meal sites; operational expenditures, including telephones, computer systems used to track client eligibility, food intake and distribution; staff and volunteer training costs such as food safety training; food handler's permits; and other direct costs which are reasonable and necessary.

[D.](4) Direct staff costs - is defined as salaries and wages, employer's payroll taxes, and fringe benefits for staff directly involved in collecting, transporting, receiving, weighing, sorting, handling, and packaging food and food ingredients; dispensing food and food ingredients directly to eligible clients; preparing, serving and/or delivering meals to eligible clients; and providing case management services directly to eligible food bank clients. Personnel costs for staff who also work in non-QEFAF supported activities must be supported by time and activity reports.

[E.](5) Food and food ingredients - reasonable and necessary purchases of food and food ingredients that are warehoused, distributed, and/or provided directly to eligible low-income individuals and households is allowable.

[F.](6) Administrative Expenditures - QEFAF funds expended for administrative costs shall not exceed 5% of the total distributions received under the QEFAF program for any fiscal year. Any QEFAF funds unexpended as of the end of Qualifying Agency's fiscal year should be clearly identified and treated as temporarily restricted funds.

 

R990-101-4. Non-Allowable Expenditures.

Expenditures that do not directly pertain to warehousing, distributing, or providing food and food ingredients to low-income persons, other than the maximum 5% administrative costs as provided in R990-101-3(6)[mentioned above], are not allowed. Specifically, expenditures associated with soliciting or promoting cash or food donations, recognizing donors and volunteers, and transportation costs other than picking up and delivering food and food ingredients, are not allowed. [Any other e]Expenditures not specifically listed [under the sections above]in R990-101-3 are not allowed.

 

R990-101-5. Submission of Claims.

[A.](1) A Qualified Agency cannot submit more than one claim per month.[Claims shall be submitted no more frequent than monthly.] Claims must be submitted[ by the Qualified Agency] online using the Web Grants system at the following website address: http://www.webgrants.community.utah.gov

[B.](2) Claims [shall]must be based on the number of eligible pounds of food donated to Qualified Agency during the state fiscal year[ beginning July 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2010 ]valued at the rate of $0.12 per pound.

 

R990-101-6. Limited Funds Available.

Funds available under the [Qualified Emergency Food Agency Fund]QEFAF program are limited. In the event funds deposited into the [Qualified Emergency Food Agency Fund]QEFAF are insufficient to meet the claims for distribution received, the [State Community Services Office (]SCSO[) shall] will make distributions to Qualified Agencies in the order [that SCSO receives]in which the claims are received by SCSO. The time [submitted]of submission, as recorded in the Web Grants system, [shall]will be used to determine the order in which claims are received by SCSO.

 

R990-101-7. Eligible Pounds.

(1) Eligible pounds [shall] means the aggregate number of pounds of food and food ingredients, as defined in Utah Code Section 59-12-102 that are [a)] donated to the Qualified Agency [on or after July 1, 2009;]during the fiscal year and [b)] for which Utah sales or use tax was paid by the person donating the food or food ingredients.

(2) Eligible pounds cannot be carried over to a succeeding fiscal year.

(3) Food or food ingredients procured through corporate donations, the grocery rescue program, or directly from the manufacturer are not eligible poundage for the QEFAF program.

(4) Produce donated from home gardeners, commercial gardeners and gardening programs, as well as meat, poultry, eggs and other food and food ingredients donated by farmers, ranchers and others, are not eligible poundage for the QEFAF program.

(5) Once eligible poundage of food and food ingredients has been reported by one Qualified Agency, poundage shared with other community partners cannot be claimed a second time.

(6) It is the responsibility of the Qualified Agency to know and properly document the source of all donated poundage claimed.

 

R990-101-8. Recordkeeping Requirements.

[A.]Each Qualified Agency [agrees to] must maintain;

(1) receipts and other original records for donations of food and food ingredients, including schedules and work papers supporting claims made under the OEFAF program[Qualified Emergency Food Agency Fund program. Such records must be maintained] for a period of [three]five years following the date of the [last refund for fiscal year ending June 30, 2010.]claim,

[B. Qualified Agency agrees to maintain](2) a financial management system that provides accurate, current, and complete disclosure of the receipt and disbursements of all QEFAF funds, including accounting records that are supported by source documentation sufficient to determine that QEFAF funds were expended only for purposes as stated in Utah Code Section 35A-8-1009 and [the Use of Funds section above.]R990-101-2, and

[C. Qualified Agency agrees to maintain](3) effective control and accountability for all QEFAF funds and all property, equipment, and other assets acquired with QEFAF funds. Qualified Agency agrees to adequately safeguard all such assets and assure they are used solely for authorized purposes. Such records must be maintained by Qualified Agency for a period of five years following the date of the claim[last refund for fiscal year ending June 30, 2010].

 

R990-101-9. Monitoring.

SCSO will monitor Qualified Agency['s] claims and may conduct one or more site visits to inspect records supporting the pounds of food and food ingredients claimed. SCSO may also review financial records to determine that distributions received are expended in accordance with Utah Code Section 35A-8-1009(8) and rule R990-101-3. The Qualified Agency agrees to provide all information [needed]requested by SCSO in performing this monitoring responsibility and will make such records available, upon reasonable notice, for said monitoring.

 

R990-101-10. Overpayment Recoupment.

[A.](1) Amounts [claimed by]to a Qualified Agency under this agreement that are determined by audit to be ineligible for reimbursement because a) such claims were based on ineligible food or food ingredient donations; or b) lack of adequate documentation to support the total poundage of food or food ingredient donations claimed [shall]must be immediately returned to the State.

[B.](2) Expenditures of QEFAF funds determined by audit to be unallowable because [1)]the funds were used for purposes not specified above under [Use of Funds]R990-101-2[; or 2)]or expenditures which are not supported by adequate source documentation [shall] be[];

(a) immediately returned to the [S]state[;], or[ ]

(b) properly segregated in the Qualified Agency's accounting records and identified as temporarily restricted until such time as those funds are used for the purpose[d]s specified [under Use of Funds above]in R990-101-2 and R990-101-3.

 

R990-101-11. Training and Technical Assistance.

SCSO agrees to provide training and technical assistance to a Qualified Agency [in regards to]for help in accessing and submitting a claim online using the Web Grants system. The Qualified Agency is responsible for ensuring that its staff receives such training and assistance.

 

KEY: Qualified Emergency Food Agencies Fund, QEFAF, antipoverty programs, community action programs

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [June 1, 2012]2013

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 35A-8-1004