1596                            LAWS OF MARYLAND                     [CH. 724

CHAPTER 724
(House Bill 1053)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 68(a)
of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1968 Supple-
ment) , title "Alcoholic Beverages," subtitle "Renewal of Licenses,"
to provide that IN BALTIMORE CITY when a protest is filed
against the renewal of a license a hearing shall be held as to the
specific complaint and not as to original application.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 68(a) of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Mary-
land (1968 Supplement), title "Alcoholic Beverages," subtitle "Re-
newal of Licenses," be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted,
with amendments, to read as follows:

68.

(a) The holder or holders of any expiring license, other than
special licenses issued under the provisions of this article, shall, not
less than thirty (30) nor more than sixty (60) days before the first
day of May of each and every year, file a written application, duly
verified by oath, for the renewal of such license with the official
authorized to approve the same. Such renewal application shall
state that the facts in the original application are unchanged, and
shall be accompanied by a statement signed by the owner of the
premises consenting to renewal of the license and to search and
seizure as in the case of original applications except that in the
case of retail dealers applying for renewal, such statement of consent
by the owner of the premises shall not be required if such owner has
previously signed such a statement in connection with an original
application or previous renewal application giving such consent for
the term of such owner's lease with the applicant if the lease
or renewal thereof does not expire during the term of the renewal
license, and upon the filing of such renewal application, and upon
payment of the annual fee herein prescribed, the holder or holders
of such expiring license shall be entitled to a new license for
another year without the filing of further statements or the fur-
nishing of any further information unless specifically requested
by the official authorized to approve such license. Provided, how-
ever, that no license by way of renewal shall be approved without a
hearing before such official if a protest signed by not less than ten
residents or real estate owners of the precinct or voting district
in which the licensed place of business is located, or instituted by
the licensing board on its own initiative, has been filed against the
granting of such new license at least thirty (30) days before the ex-
piration of the license for which renewal is sought. If such protest
has been filed it shall be heard and determined not as in the case of
original applications, EXCEPT IN BALTIMORE CITY IT SHALL
BE HEARD AND DETERMINED NOT AS IN THE CASE OF
ORIGINAL APPLICATION in regard to zoning but only