1. (a) A protest made by a public agency or governing body shall be filed with the Department within the protest period, which begins at the time the application is filed and ends thirty (30) calendar days after any of the following occurs, whichever is later:

   1. (1) The posting of notice at the proposed licensed premises as required by law;
   2. (2) The date the applicant mails the required notice to every resident and real property owner pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 23985.5. The burden of establishing when the mailing was done or if no mailing was required pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 23958.5 shall be upon the applicant; or
   3. (3) The date the Department mails the notice to public officials pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 23987.
2. (b) The Department shall notify the applicant of all protests under this section during its investigation of the application.
3. (c) A local law enforcement agency may request up to an additional twenty (20) days for a timely filing of their protests upon written request made to the Department prior to the expiration of the time period set forth in subdivision (a) of this section. The request shall include a statement of proper grounds for the extension. Proper grounds for an extension under this subsection are limited to being in the process of preparing a protest or proposing conditions with respect to the application.
4. (d) If the Department recommends that a license be issued notwithstanding a protest made by a public agency or governing body, the Department shall inform the public agency or governing body of the determination in writing, shall set a hearing as provided in Chapter 5 (commencing with section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and shall serve a notice of hearing on the public agency or governing body pursuant to Government Code section 11509.
5. (e) The Department shall notify a protestant whose protest has been rejected within five (5) business days of the determination of the rejection. The required notice shall include the reasons the Department rejected the protest in whole or in part.

Note: Authority cited: Article XX, Section 22, California Constitution; and Sections 24013 and 25750, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 23958, 23958.1, 23958.2, 23987, 24013, 24013.2, 24014 and 24015, Business and Professions Code.

History

1. New section filed 6-23-2025; operative 10-1-2025 (Register 2025, No. 26).