Section 393.1. Definitions.

Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:

(a)        "Academic period" means a semester, trimester, quarter, or other college or university unit of study.

(b)     "Act" means 1978 PA 260, as amended, being MCL 393.351.

(c)        "Active participation" means the process whereby the elected operators' committee and its subcommittees, the commission board, and commission staff cooperate in the development and implementation of major administrative decisions and policy as well as  program   development,  as prescribed in the Randolph Sheppard act of 1936, as amended, 20  U.S.C.  §107 et seq. and the act.

(d)       "Administrator" means the program administrator of the business enterprise program.

(e)      "Bid" means the process whereby a licensee or a potential licensee records on the business enterprise program telephone system his or her desire to transfer to, or begin operation of, an available location.

(f)        "Bid line" means a telephone line that contains a recorded message of all locations which are available during an identified time frame.

(g)        "Cafeteria" means a food dispensing facility capable of providing a broad variety of prepared foods and beverages, including hot meals, primarily through the use of a line where the customer serves himself or herself from displayed selections. A cafeteria may be fully automatic or may have limited table service. Table or booth seating facilities are always provided.

(h)     "Combined cafeteria/snack bar" means a facility that combines the features of a cafeteria with the features of a snack bar.

(i)     "Commission" means the Michigan commission for the blind.

(j)             "Commission board" means the policy-setting body for the Michigan commission for the blind.

(k)     "Committee" means a group of members which is elected to represent all vending facility operators and which is created under R 393.53.

(l)     "Dry stand" means a vending facility that does not sell liquids.

(m)       "Federal properties" means a building, land, or other real property owned, leased, or occupied by a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States, including the department of defense and the United States postal service, or an instrumentality wholly owned by the United States.

(n)        "Hearings office" means the office within the department charged with the responsibility of conducting fair and impartial hearings.

(o)      "Hearings officer" means a person designated to conduct hearings and issue proposed decisions on behalf of the commission pursuant to 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201.

(p)     "Highway vending" means a vending facility that consists of 1 or more state of Michigan highway rest areas or welcome centers.

(q)     "Initial merchandise inventory" means merchandise necessary for establishing a licensee in a vending facility, and shall include bill changer change and coin mechanism change.

(r)       "License" means a written instrument that the commission issues to a blind person that authorizes the person to operate a vending facility on federal, state, or other property.

(s)       "Licensee" means a blind person who the commission licenses to operate an assigned vending facility.

(t)     "Management services and supervision" means and includes inspection, quality control, consultation, accounting, regulating, in service training, and related services provided on a systematic basis provided to support and improve Randolph-Sheppard small business enterprises operated by blind individuals. "Management services and supervision" does not include routine services or costs that pertain to the ongoing operation of an individual facility after the initial establishment period.

(u)       "Mandated" facility means a facility in which blind persons are granted priority to operate concessions under the Randolph-Sheppard act of 1936, as amended, 20 U.S.C. §107 et seq. and the act.

(v)       "Net proceeds" means the amount remaining from the sale of articles or services of vending facilities and any vending machine or other income accruing to operators after deducting the cost of the sale and other expenses and excluding set aside charges required to be paid by operators.

(w)    "Net profit" is the gross income to the operator before personal income tax.

(x)     "Operating costs" means the cost of all of the following:

(i)     Products sold.

(ii)     Employees' wages, taxes, and compensation.

(iii)     An operator's portion of repair.

(iv)     Sales taxes.

(v)     Operating insurance.

(vi)     Supplies.

(vii)     Business telephone charges directly related to the vending facility.

(viii)       The renting or leasing of commission-approved equipment or space, which may include utilities.

(ix)      Actual vehicle mileage or actual vehicle expenses, documented in a log for that purpose, which are directly related to the operation of the vending stand facility, which are deemed necessary for the location, and  which  are  identified  in  the agreement, and parking and tolls directly related to the operation of the vending stand facility. The expenses shall be documented by adequate records or evidence. The rate of reimbursement shall be established by the commission board with the active participation of the committee. Vehicle mileage between the licensee's home and the vending facility is not an operating expense.

(x)     Dues for professional and trade organizations.

(y)     "Other property" means property which is not required by  state  or federal law to house a vending stand facility and which is property on which vending facilities are established or operated through the use of any funds derived, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the  operation  of any mandated vending facility.

(z)        "Permit" means the official approval or authority which is given to the commission by a department, agency, or instrumentality that is in control of the maintenance, operation, and protection of federal property or by a person who is in control of other property and which authorizes the commission to establish a vending facility.

(aa) "Program" means all the activities of the commission related to business enterprise program vending facilities on federal, state, and other properties.

(bb) "Promotional agent" means the commission employee occupying the Michigan department of civil service position that performs the duties described in R 393.21.

(cc) "Satellite" means a site that is added to a licensee's primary vending facility to assist the profitability of the primary vending facility. A satellite is not profitable enough to meet the current requirements for a self-supporting facility.

(dd) "Self-employment" means an occupation where an individual does not receive a W-2 form and is required to file an internal revenue service schedule "C" (sole proprietorship form).

(ee) "Set-aside funds" means funds that accrue to the commission from an assessment against the net proceeds of each vending facility in the state's program.

(ff) "Snack bar" means a vending facility that is engaged in selling limited lines of refreshment and derives more than 5% of its gross sales from the sale of coffee or other beverages. A snack bar may sell prepared food items necessary for a light meal service such as  soups,   salads,  and sandwiches. Food may be prepared off the premises. A snack bar may have no or limited on-site food preparation.

(gg)  "Stand type" means any of the following types of vending facility:

(i)     Dry stand.

(ii)     Snack bar.

(iii)     Vending machine.

(iv)     Cafeteria.

(v)     Combined cafeteria/snack bar.

(vi)     Vending machine route.

(vii)     Highway vending.

(hh) "State property" means a business enterprise program facility in a building or on a property owned or occupied by the state, except for a concession operated in connection with any of the following:

(i)     The state fair.

(ii)     The use of state fair grounds.

(iii)     Any state educational institution.

(iv)     A state penal institution.

(v)     Military establishments and armories.

(vi)     A state park.

(ii) "Unassigned vending machine income" means the funds that accrue from vending machines on federal, state, and other properties, for which there is no blind licensee and which accrues to the commission.

(jj) "Vending facility" means an automatic vending machine, cafeteria, snack bar, cart service, catering, coffee service, shelter, counter or any other appropriate auxiliary service or equipment as the   commission  may prescribe by rule as being necessary for the sale of articles  or  services described in 1978 PA 260, as amended, being §393.351 et seq of the Michigan Compiled Laws and which may be operated by a blind licensee.

(kk) "Vending machine route" means a vending facility that consists of vending machines situated in disparate physical locations. None of the vending machine route component parts can function as a vending facility.

(ll) "Vending machine facility" means  a   vending  facility  that  has   a majority of its sales generated from coin or currency-operated machines that dispense articles or services.

(2)     A term defined in the act has the same meaning when used in these rules.

History: 2004 AACS.