HARRY HUGHES, Governor

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(h) In Prince George's County, an application for an
alcoholic beverage license shall not be considered prima
facie evidence that, the applicant or applicants are entitled
to said license. Because of the limitation on licenses as
set forth in subsection (a) of this section the burden of
proof shall be upon the applicant or applicants to show to
the board of licenses that the approval of the issuance of a
license to said applicant or applicants is necessary for the
accommodation of the public at the premises applied for.
The limitations on licenses enumerated in subsection [(1)]
(A) of this [article] SECTION may not be construed as the
number of licenses the board is obligated to issue.

177.

(a) In the jurisdictions in which this section is
applicable, within ten days from the date of the decision of
the board of license commissioners and upon full payment of
all the costs as hereinbefore in this subtitle provided, the
decision of the boards of license commissioners in
approving, suspending, revoking or restricting or refusing
to approve, suspend, revoke or restrict any license, shall
be subject to appeal to the State Appeal Board, by the
applicant for any license, the licensee, or not less than
ten citizens, voters and real estate owners, residing in the
precinct or voting district in which the place of business
is located or proposed to be located. Upon the filing of
any such appeal, all papers and [and] testimony produced
before the board of license commissioners shall be forwarded
to the State Appeal Board within thirty days thereof upon
the payment by the appellant or appellants, of all costs
incident to the hearing before the board of license
commissioners. Every such appeal shall be heard by all the
State Appeal Board de novo; but said Appeal Board shall
consider all the papers and testimony produced before the
said boards. The noting of an appeal and payment of said
costs shall stay the order of the board pending the
determination of the appeal. It shall be the duty of the
State Appeal Board to hear and determine all such appeals
within thirty days from the date of the receipt of the
papers and testimony from the board originally hearing the
application, complaint or charges, and if the decision
appealed from is reversed, the costs paid by the appellants
shall be recoverable by the appellants from the appellees,
in a civil action, and failure of the Appeal Board to
determine the appeal within a period of thirty days, after
the record has been filed as above provided, shall be
considered an automatic affirmance of the local board's
decision unless the time has been extended by the Appeal
Board for a good cause shown.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That section(s)
of the Annotated Code of Maryland (as enacted by Chapter 775
of the Acts of the General Assembly of 1980) be repealed,
amended, or enacted to read as follower