2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XX - Public Safety and Good Order › Chapter 140 - Licenses › Section 59 - Licensing Authorities; Expiration; Fees; Application; Prerequisites; Premises; Ordinance Regulations; Revocation; Notice

Section 59. The police commissioner in Boston and the licensing authorities in other cities and towns may grant licenses under this section which shall expire on January first following the date of issue unless sooner revoked. The fees for the licenses shall be fixed by the licensing board or officer, but in no event shall any such fee be greater than $200. Application for license shall be made in such form as shall be approved by the registrar of motor vehicles, in sections fifty-nine to sixty-six, inclusive, called the registrar, and if the applicant has not held a license in the year prior to such application, such application shall be made in duplicate, which duplicate shall be filed with the registrar. No such license shall be granted unless the licensing board or officer is satisfied from an investigation of the facts stated in the application and any other information which they may require of the applicant, that he is a proper person to engage in the business specified in section fifty-eight in the classifications for which he has applied, that said business is or will be his principal business, and that he has available a place of business suitable for the purpose. The license shall specify all the premises to be occupied by the licensee for the purpose of carrying on the licensed business. Permits for a change of situation of the licensed premises or for additions thereto may be granted at any time by the licensing board or officer in writing, a copy of which shall be attached to the license. Cities and towns by ordinance or by-law may regulate the situation of the premises of licensees within class 3 as defined in section fifty-eight, and all licenses and permits issued hereunder to persons within said class 3 shall be subject to the provisions of ordinances and by-laws which are hereby authorized to be made. No original license or permit shall be issued hereunder to a person within said class 3 until after a hearing, of which seven days' notice shall have been given to the owners of the property abutting on the premises where such license or permit is proposed to be exercised. Except in the city of Boston, the licensing board or officer may, in its discretion, waive the annual hearing for renewal of a class 3 license. All licenses granted under this section shall be revoked by the licensing board or officer if it appears, after hearing, that the licensee is not complying with sections fifty-seven to sixty-nine, inclusive, or the rules and regulations made thereunder; and no new license shall be granted to such person thereafter, nor to any person for use on the same premises, without the approval of the registrar. The hearing may be dispensed with if the registrar notifies the licensing board or officer that a licensee is not so complying. In each case where such license is revoked, the licensing board or officer shall forthwith notify the registrar of such revocation. Any person aggrieved by any action of the licensing board or officer refusing to grant, or revoking a license for any cause may, within ten days after such action, appeal therefrom to any justice of the superior court in the county in which the premises sought to be occupied under the license or permit applied for are located. The justice shall, after such notice to the parties as he deems reasonable, give a summary hearing on such appeal, and shall have jurisdiction in equity to review all questions of fact or law and may affirm or reverse the decision of the board or officer and may make any appropriate decree. The parties shall have all rights of appeal as in other cases.