SC Administrative Law Court Decisions

On April 7, 2008, the Department received a protest from Reverend Willie F. Graves, Union African Methodist Episcopal Church, PO Box 51 in Lake View, South Carolina. The protest was postmarked April 3, 2008.

The protest was to the application of Hezzie Williams, d/b/a Bootsies at 1000A South Main Street, Lake View, South Carolina for an off premises beer and wine permit. According to the application, Bootsies is a convenience store with snacks and drinks.

As part of the application process, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) conducted a standard investigation of the location to determine compliance with the statutory requirements of licensure. In conducting this investigation, SLED distributed protest forms to the churches in the area of Bootsies, including Union AME Church, located at 1203 Scott Street in Lake View, approximately 700 feet from Bootsies.

The SLED agent also posted a notice on the proposed location, notifying the community members that they could protest the issuance of this permit by filing a protest with the Department on or before March 29, 2008.

The Department did not receive any protests by March 29, 2008 and determined that the Applicant met all statutory requirements for licensure.

Reverend Graves’ protest was received on April 7, 2008. By letter dated April 9, 2008, the Department notified Reverend Graves that his protest was not timely and advised him that if he did not agree with the Department’s decision he could protest the decision within 90 days of the letter.

By letter dated April 29, 2008, the church protested the Department’s determination that the protest was untimely.

In order to be valid, a timely public protest must be filed with the Department. S.C. Code Ann. 61-4-525 provides that “… upon receipt of a timely filed protest, the Department shall determine the protestant’s intent to attend a contested hearing before the ALC. If the protestant intends to attend a contested hearing, the Department may not issue the permanent permit but shall forward the file to the ALC …”

Likewise, Regulation 7-201 states “ a protest concerning the issuance of a new permit for a license must be mailed to the department and postmarked on or before the date set forth in the notice of application published in the newspaper or the notice posted at the site.”

Here, the Department did not receive a timely protest from Reverend Graves. The protest was postmarked April 3, 2008 and received on April 7, 2008. The deadline posted at the location was March 29, 2008. Pursuant to 61-4-525 and Regulation 7-201, Reverend Graves’ protest was untimely and was properly not considered by the Department. Since the Department found that the Applicant met all statutory requirements for a license, the department properly issued the requested permit.