§ 82. Gifts to food banks fund. 1. There is hereby established in the sole custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the "gifts to food banks fund". Monies in the fund shall be kept separate from and not commingled with other funds held in the sole custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance. 2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received by the department of taxation and finance pursuant to the provisions of section six hundred twenty-five-a of the tax law and all other money appropriated, credited, or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. Nothing in this section shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and depositing them into the fund according to law. 3. Monies of the fund shall, after appropriation by the legislature, be made available to the department of health for grants to regional food banks, organized to serve specific regions of the state, that generally collect and redistribute food donations to organizations serving persons in need. Monies shall be payable from the fund by the commissioner of taxation and finance on vouchers approved by the commissioner of health. The commissioner of health shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the distribution of such grants. 4. To the extent practicable, the commissioner of health shall ensure that all monies received during a fiscal year are expended prior to the end of that fiscal year. 5. On or before the first day of February each year, the comptroller shall certify to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate finance committee and chair of the assembly ways and means committee, the amount of money deposited in the gifts to food banks fund during the preceding calendar year as the result of revenue derived pursuant to section six hundred twenty-five-a of the tax law. 6. On or before the first day of February each year, the commissioner of health shall provide a written report to the temporary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate finance committee, chair of the assembly ways and means committee, chair of the senate committee on social services, chair of the assembly social services committee, and the public. Such report shall include how the monies of the fund were utilized during the preceding calendar year and shall include:

(a) the amount of money disbursed from the fund;

(b) the recipients of awards from the fund;

(c) the amount awarded to each recipient;

(d) the purposes for which such awards were granted; and

(e) a summary financial plan for such monies which shall include estimates of all receipts and all disbursements for the current and succeeding fiscal years, along with the actual results from the prior fiscal year.