Court Opinion

ID: 9726901
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 13:11:56.111627+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:31.846330
License: Public Domain

Smith, J.
(specially concurring) — While agreeing with both the majority opinion and Justice Oliver’s special concurrence, I feel an additional word should be said concerning the contention that “power to revoke implies the power to deny in the first instance.”
The distinction between “permits” (A, B and C) and “state permits” has already been pointed out in Justice Oliver’s special concurring opinion. Code sections 124.2(7) and 124.5. The present action is brought to compel defendant State Beer Permit Board to issue its own state permit. Plaintiff has already been issued a permit (class B) by the town of Bevington. No question of its revocation is involved.
The power of the defendant-board both to issue and to revoke state permits is found in the last two paragraphs of section 124.5. The power to issue depends on the issuance of the permit (class B or C) and the power to cancel is conditioned upon the revocation of such class B or C permit.
Code section 124.4 confers on defendant State Beer Permit Board some right of review of actions of city or town councils or boards of supervisors in refusing to revoke permits (class B or C, as the case may be). See also Code section 124.3, last paragraph. But the only provision authorizing defendant-board to revoke a state permit is found in section 124.5: “Upon the revoking of a permit by any city or town council or board of supervisors, such council or board shall certify to the state permit board the action so taken, and thereupon the state permit board shall immediately cancel its permit [state permit] to such permit holder * * (Italics supplied.)
. Manifestly this'limited power to' cancel a state permit after it has been issued has no bearing on defendant’s claimed power to refuse to issue such state permit in face of the mandatory language of Code section 124.5: “The state permit board shall promptly issue a state permit to all applicants to whom a permit has been issued by a city or town council or by a board of supervisors.” (Italics supplied.)
*1159Plaintiff here was issued her permit by tbe proper issuing body. Until that permit is revoked she is entitled to a state permit. The provisions requiring defendant-board to review a refusal or failure of the issuing body to revoke a class B or C permit have nothing to do with the issue here. There is no statutory power to revoke upon which to predicate a power to deny in the first instance.