1. (1) Participation by an agency in a municipal gun buyback program that is to be funded in whole or in part from the Municipal Gun Buyback Fund is not authorized unless a written application has first been submitted to and approved by the Superintendent of State Police, or an authorized designee, pursuant to the provisions of this Subpart (Rule 22).
2. (2) All written applications for participation in a municipal gun buyback program submitted to the Division of State Police must be signed by the chief executive of the applicant agency, or the lead agency if more than one agency will participate in the buyback program.

3. (3) Applications for participation in a municipal gun buyback program must contain:

   1. (i) The lead agency’s name, address, and area of jurisdiction, and if additional agencies are participating in the buyback program the same information for each agency.
   2. (ii) The date and time the program will commence and conclude.
   3. (iii) The location(s) for the Municipal Gun Buyback Program event(s).
   4. (iv) The name, title, and contact information for the agency representative who will administer oversight of the event. This shall include an address, phone number, and e-mail address.
   5. (v) A description of any previous gun buyback programs conducted by the agency, if any, and any other planned gun buyback programs to be conducted in the future.
   6. (vi) A detailed description of all procedures and information required to be included in an application pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (g) of section 473-2.3 (Rule 22.3) of this Subpart.

   7. (vii) The proposed instructions that the agency will provide to the public on how to surrender firearms, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, and/or other weapons as part of the Municipal Gun Buyback Program, including instructions for how and when to transport such items and any documentation individuals should carry on their person and/or other information that should be used to facilitate application of the provisions of subparagraph (f) of paragraph one of subdivision (a) of section 265.20 of the Penal Law when surrendering firearms, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, and/or other weapons as part of the Municipal Gun Buyback Program.

      (b) Application review and determination.

4. (1) The Superintendent or an authorized designee will review all applications submitted by agencies pursuant to this Rule and either approve or deny each application and notify the submitting agency of such determination.
5. (2) Approval of applications will be based upon compliance with the application requirements set forth in subdivision (a) of this section, in addition to the division’s overall goal of allocating municipal gun buyback funding throughout the State, with particular emphasis on localities where such buyback programs may be most effective and have the greatest public safety benefit.
6. (3) Any approval granted by the superintendent or designee will be subject to available appropriations and funds in the Municipal Gun Buyback Fund. All approved applications will be forwarded to the State Comptroller and Commissioner of Tax and Finance for determination of funding availability.

7. (4) The submitting agency will be notified by the Division of State Police of the reasons for the denial of any application, and will be permitted to amend and resubmit the application.

   (c) Program completion.

8. (1) Within seven days of completing an approved municipal gun buyback program event, the agency shall submit a certified accounting of funds dispersed and a listing of firearms, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, and/or other weapons received during the gun buyback event to the Division of State Police.
9. (2) The superintendent or an authorized designee will review the accounting of funds and list of items received and forward the same to the State Comptroller and Commissioner of Tax and Finance if no discrepancies are noted. Otherwise, the agency will be notified of any discrepancies and be given an opportunity to amend and resubmit the accounting and/or listing of items received through the buyback event.
10. (3) Payment to the participating agency will be made directly by the State Comptroller and/or Commissioner of Tax and Finance from the Municipal Gun Buyback Fund, upon final approval of all submissions.

(a) Written application required.