§ 846-M — Plan of operation and grant award process

§ 846-m. Plan of operation and grant award process. 1. In accordance\nwith the legislative intent of this article, the board shall develop and\nrecommend to the commissioner a plan of operation which shall provide\nfor a coordinated approach to curtailing motor vehicle theft and motor\nvehicle insurance fraud throughout the state. The plan shall provide an\nintegrated means to detect, prevent, deter and reduce motor vehicle\ntheft and motor vehicle insurance fraud by providing funds, upon the\nrecommendation of the board and approved by the commissioner, to meet\nthese objectives. The plan of operation shall include but not be limited\nto: an assessment of the scope of the problem of motor vehicle theft and\nmotor vehicle insurance fraud, including a regional analysis of the\nincidence of motor vehicle theft and motor vehicle insurance fraud and\nrelated activities; an analysis of various methods of combating the\nproblem; and the development of a request for proposals process,\nconsistent with the plan, for applications from provider agencies to\nreceive grants from the fund.\n 2. (a) The moneys received by the fund shall be expended in a manner\nthat is consistent with the plan of operation, pursuant to\nappropriation, only to reimburse costs incurred by provider agencies for\npilot program activities relating to the detection, prevention or\nreduction of motor vehicle theft and motor vehicle insurance fraud.\n (b) Activities eligible for funding include, but are not limited to,\nthe following: prosecution and adjudication services; law enforcement\nservices; neighborhood or community based programs designed to reduce\nthe incidence of motor vehicle theft and motor vehicle insurance fraud;\neducational programs designed to inform owners of motor vehicles\nconcerning activities designed to prevent the incidence of theft of\nmotor vehicles and fraudulent claims practices; and programs designed to\nexamine, evaluate and make recommendations relating to the efficacy of\nmotor vehicle theft prevention devices or methods including, but not\nlimited to, passive tracking devices designed to identify the location\nof a motor vehicle at any given point in time and window glass etching\nwith vehicle identification numbers or any other unique identifying\nsymbol including decal programs such as New York city's operation combat\nauto theft (C.A.T.). Funds provided under this program shall be used to\naugment, and not to supplant, the provider agency's current funding, if\nany, for motor vehicle theft and insurance fraud detection, prevention,\nor reduction activities.\n (c) In allocating the moneys for the program, the commissioner, upon\nrecommendation of the board, shall, to the greatest extent possible,\ntake into account the geographic incidence of motor vehicle theft and\ninsurance fraud, whereby localities with the greatest incidence of motor\nvehicle theft and insurance fraud shall be targeted for the purposes of\nthis program.\n (d) The state comptroller shall conduct an audit of all moneys\nreceived and expended by the fund as well as all other funds expended\nfrom any other source for the purposes of this program, and shall submit\na written report detailing such audit to the governor and legislature on\nor before March first of each year.\n