The State Board of Elections shall provide by rule, after at least 2 public hearings of the Board and in consultation with the election authorities, a Cyber Navigator Program to support the efforts of election authorities to defend against cyber breaches and detect and recover from cyber attacks. The rules shall include the Board’s plan to allocate any resources received in accordance with the Help America Vote Act and provide that no less than half of any such funds received shall be allocated to the Cyber Navigator Program. The Cyber Navigator Program should be designed to provide equal support to all election authorities, with allowable modifications based on need. The remaining half of the Help America Vote Act funds shall be distributed as the State Board of Elections may determine, but no grants may be made to election authorities that do not participate in the Cyber Navigator Program.
     In distribution of the remaining funds received under the federal Help America Vote Act, the Board may make such funds available to election authorities for the maintenance of secure collection sites for the return of vote by mail ballots.