HD48 - Community Participation in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Licensing Process


Executive Summary:
Information for the Crime Commission's study concerning community participation in the ABC licensing process was gathered from: interviews, working groups, discussions with representatives of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, discussions with local and state officials, administrative hearings, and site visits. During the course of the study, the Commission addressed and made recommendations on issues pertaining to community participation in the licensing process. The Commission made the following recommendation:

• The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board should design and print easy-to-understand informational brochures for both licensees and members of the community. The brochures should clearly explain the rights and the processes for utilizing those rights regarding both the issuance and the revocation of ABC licenses. These brochures should be distributed upon a new license application, a change of an existing license, or the receipt of a complaint.

These brochures should clearly explain:

1. The ability of citizens to contest license applications, the steps necessary to accomplish that task, and the corresponding appellate rights;

2. The ability of citizens to contest the continuation of a license, the steps necessary to accomplish that task, and the corresponding appellate rights; and

3. A retailer's right to appeal a decision of the Board, the steps necessary to accomplish that task, and the corresponding appellate rights.