IOWA STATUTES AND CODES
123.32 - ACTION BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND DIVISION ON APPLICATIONS FOR LIQUOR CONTROL LICENSES AND WINE AND BEER PERMITS.
123.32 ACTION BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND DIVISION ON
APPLICATIONS FOR LIQUOR CONTROL LICENSES AND WINE AND BEER PERMITS.
1. Filing of application. An application for a class "A",
class "B", class "C", or class "E" liquor control license, for a
retail beer permit as provided in sections 123.128 and 123.129, or
for a class "B", class "B" native, or class "C" native retail wine
permit as provided in section 123.178, 123.178A, or 123.178B,
accompanied by the necessary fee and bond, if required, shall be
filed with the appropriate city council if the premises for which the
license or permit is sought are located within the corporate limits
of a city, or with the board of supervisors if the premises for which
the license or permit is sought are located outside the corporate
limits of a city. An application for a class "D" liquor control
license and for a class "A" beer or class "A" wine permit,
accompanied by the necessary fee and bond, if required, shall be
filed with the division, which shall proceed in the same manner as in
the case of an application approved by local authorities.
2. Action by local authorities. The local authority shall
either approve or disapprove the issuance of a liquor control
license, retail wine permit, or retail beer permit, shall endorse its
approval or disapproval on the application and shall forward the
application with the necessary fee and bond, if required, to the
division. There is no limit upon the number of liquor control
licenses, retail wine permits, or retail beer permits which may be
approved for issuance by local authorities.
3. Licensed premises for local events. A local authority may
define, by motion of the local authority, licensed premises which
shall be used by holders of liquor control licenses, beer permits,
and wine permits at festivals, fairs, or celebrations which are
sponsored or authorized by the local authority. The licensed
premises defined by motion of the local authority shall be used by
the holders of five-day or fourteen-day liquor control licenses, or
five-day or fourteen-day beer permits only.
4. Security employee training. A local authority, as a
condition of obtaining and holding a license or permit for
on-premises consumption, may require a designated security employee
as defined in section 123.3 to be trained and certified in security
methods. The training shall include but is not limited to
de-escalation techniques, anger management techniques, civil rights
or unfair practices awareness as provided in section 216.7,
recognition of fake or altered identification, information on laws
applicable to the serving of alcohol at a licensed premises, use of
force and techniques for safely removing patrons, and instruction on
the proper physical restraint methods used against a person who has
become combative.
5. Occupancy rates. A local authority located in a county
with a population that exceeds three hundred thousand persons, as a
condition of obtaining and holding a license or permit for
on-premises consumption, shall require the applicant, licensee, or
permittee to provide, and update if necessary, the occupancy rate of
the licensed premises.
6. Action by administrator.
a. Upon receipt of an application having been disapproved by
the local authority, the administrator shall notify the applicant
that the applicant may appeal the disapproval of the application to
the administrator. The applicant shall be notified by certified
mail, and the application, the fee, and any bond shall be returned to
the applicant.
b. Upon receipt of an application having been approved by the
local authority, the division shall make an investigation as the
administrator deems necessary to determine that the applicant
complies with all requirements for holding a license or permit, and
may require the applicant to appear to be examined under oath to
demonstrate that the applicant complies with all of the requirements
to hold a license or permit. If the administrator requires the
applicant to appear and to testify under oath, a record shall be made
of all testimony or evidence and the record shall become a part of
the application. The administrator may appoint a member of the
division or may request an administrative law judge of the department
of inspections and appeals to receive the testimony under oath and
evidence, and to issue a proposed decision to approve or disapprove
the application for a license or permit. The administrator may
affirm, reverse, or modify the proposed decision to approve or
disapprove the application for the license or permit. If the
application is approved by the administrator, the license or permit
shall be issued. If the application is disapproved by the
administrator, the applicant and the appropriate local authority
shall be so notified by certified mail.
7. Appeal to administrator. An applicant for a liquor
control license, wine permit, or beer permit may appeal from the
local authority's disapproval of an application for a license or
permit to the administrator. In the appeal the applicant shall be
allowed the opportunity to demonstrate in an evidentiary hearing
conducted pursuant to chapter 17A that the applicant complies with
all of the requirements for holding the license or permit. The
administrator may appoint a member of the division or may request an
administrative law judge from the department of inspections and
appeals to conduct the evidentiary hearing and to render a proposed
decision to approve or disapprove the issuance of the license or
permit. The administrator may affirm, reverse, or modify the
proposed decision. If the administrator determines that the
applicant complies with all of the requirements for holding a license
or permit, the administrator shall order the issuance of the license
or permit. If the administrator determines that the applicant does
not comply with the requirements for holding a license or permit, the
administrator shall disapprove the issuance of the license or permit.
8. Judicial review. The applicant or the local authority may
seek judicial review of the action of the administrator in accordance
with the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A.
Notwithstanding the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act,
chapter 17A, petitions for judicial review may be filed in the
district court of the county where the premises covered by the
application are situated.
9. Suspension by local authority. A liquor control licensee
or a wine or beer permittee whose license or permit has been
suspended or revoked or a civil penalty imposed by a local authority
for a violation of this chapter or suspended by a local authority for
violation of a local ordinance may appeal the suspension, revocation,
or civil penalty to the administrator. The administrator may appoint
a member of the division or may request an administrative law judge
from the department of inspections and appeals to hear the appeal
which shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 17A and to issue
a proposed decision. The administrator may review the proposed
decision upon the motion of a party to the appeal or upon the
administrator's own motion in accordance with chapter 17A. Upon
review of the proposed decision, the administrator may affirm,
reverse, or modify the proposed decision. A liquor control licensee,
wine or beer permittee, or a local authority aggrieved by a decision
of the administrator may seek judicial review of the decision
pursuant to chapter 17A. Section History: Early Form
[C35, § 1921-f27; C39, § 1921.027; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66,
71, § 123.27; C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 123.32] Section History: Recent Form
85 Acts, ch 32, § 23; 86 Acts, ch 1246, § 743; 88 Acts, ch 1088, §
4; 89 Acts, ch 161, § 7; 90 Acts, ch 1177, § 1; 91 Acts, ch 97, § 22;
93 Acts, ch 91, § 10--12; 2000 Acts, ch 1201, §3; 2003 Acts, ch 44,
§114; 2003 Acts, ch 143, §3, 17; 2005 Acts, ch 13, §2; 2008 Acts, ch
1166, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 137, §1
Referred to in § 123.31, 123.39, 331.303 Footnotes
Security employee training pilot project; requirement, during
period beginning January 1, 2009, and ending June 30, 2011, for
trained and certified security employee supervisor in certain
establishments in a county with a population that exceeds three
hundred thousand persons; report to general assembly; 2008 Acts, ch
1166, §2