Alcoholic beverages: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

(1) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and requires the department to perform various duties relating to the issuance of alcoholic beverage licences. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act requires specified applicants for on-sale or off-sale licensees to have a notice of the application published, as provided. This bill would exempt from that requirement applicants that are required to provide specified notices via mail of applications for licenses, including retail licenses, and transfer of licenses, as provided. (2) Existing law provides that protests against the issuance of a liquor license may be filed with the department. Existing law permits the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to reject protests, except protests made by a public agency, public official, or governing body of a city or county, it determines to be false, vexatious, or without reasonable or probable cause. This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2016, to promulgate regulations regarding responding to protests filed under these provisions. The bill would also require a protest submitted by a person other than an employee of the department or a public officer to be submitted by an individual and limit the protest to one signatory.