(a) Subject to the restrictions hereinafter provided in this act, and upon being satisfied of the truth of the statements in the application, that the premises and the applicant meet all the requirements of this act and the regulations of the board, that the applicant seeks a license for a reputable hotel, eating place or club, as defined in this act, the board shall, in the case of a hotel or eating place, grant and issue, and in the case of a club may, in its discretion, issue or refuse the applicant a retail dispenser's license.

(b) In the case of hotels and eating places, licenses shall be issued only to reputable persons who are citizens of the United States and have for two years been residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the date of their application, or to reputable corporations organized or duly registered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, all of whose officers and directors are citizens of the United States. In the case of incorporated clubs, licenses shall be issued only to those incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania.

(c) No retail dispenser's licenses shall be granted or renewed upon their expiration in any municipality in which the electors shall vote, as hereinafter provided, against the licensing therein of places where malt or brewed beverages may be sold for consumption on the premises where sold.

(d) The board shall, in its discretion, grant or refuse any new license, the transfer of any license to a new location or the extension of an existing license to cover an additional area if such place proposed to be licensed is within three hundred feet of any church, hospital, charitable institution, school, or public playground, or if such new license, transfer or extension is applied for a place which is within two hundred feet of any other premises which is licensed by the board. The board shall refuse any application for a new license, the transfer of any license to a new location or the extension of an existing license to cover an additional area if, in the board's opinion, such new license, transfer or extension would be detrimental to the welfare, health, peace and morals of the inhabitants of the neighborhood within a radius of five hundred feet of the place to be licensed. The board may enter into an agreement with the applicant concerning additional restrictions on the license in question. If the board and the applicant enter into such an agreement, such agreement shall be binding on the applicant. Failure by the applicant to adhere to the agreement will be sufficient cause to form the basis for a citation under section 471¹ and for the nonrenewal of the license under section 470.² If the board enters into an agreement with an applicant concerning additional restrictions, those restrictions shall be binding on subsequent holders of the license until the license is transferred to a new location or until the board enters into a subsequent agreement removing those restrictions. If the application in question involves a location previously licensed by the board, then any restrictions imposed by the board on the previous license at that location shall be binding on the applicant unless the board enters into a new agreement rescinding those restrictions. The board shall have the discretion to refuse a license to any person or to any corporation, partnership or association if such person, or any officer or director of such corporation, or any member or partner of such partnership or association shall have been convicted or found guilty of a felony within a period of five years immediately preceding the date of application for the said license. The board may, in its discretion, refuse an application for an economic development license under section 461(b.1)³ or an application for an intermunicipal transfer or a license if the board receives a protest from the governing body of the receiving municipality. The receiving municipality of an intermunicipal transfer or an economic development license under section 461(b.1) may file a protest against the approval for issuance of a license for economic development or an intermunicipal transfer of a license into its municipality, and such municipality shall have standing in a hearing to present testimony in support of or against the issuance or transfer of a license. Upon any opening in any quota, an application for a new license shall only be filed with the board for a period of six months following said opening.

(e) Every applicant for a new or for the transfer of an existing license to another premises not then licensed shall post, for a period of at least thirty days beginning with the day the application is filed with the board, in a conspicuous place on the outside of the premises or in a window plainly visible from the outside of the premises for which the license is applied or at the proposed new location, a notice of such application. The notice shall indicate whether the applicant is applying for the amusement permit required by section 493(10).⁴ The notice shall be in such form, be of such size, and contain such provisions as the board may require by its regulations. Proof of the posting of such notice shall be filed with the board.

(f) Hotel, eating places, or municipal golf course retail dispenser licensees may sell malt or brewed beverages between the hours of eleven o'clock antemeridian on Sunday and two o'clock antemeridian on Monday upon purchase of a special permit from the board at an annual fee as prescribed in section 614-A of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175),⁵ known as “The Administrative Code of 1929,” which shall be in addition to any other license fees. Notwithstanding this provision, a licensee holding such a special permit may begin selling malt or brewed beverages on Sunday between the hours of nine o'clock antemeridian and eleven o'clock antemeridian provided that the licensee offers a meal, as that term is defined in section 406,⁶ beginning at nine o'clock antemeridian.

(g) Deleted by 2006, Nov. 29, P.L. 1421, No. 155, § 1.3, imd. effective.

(h) In a municipality which has approved the granting of liquor licenses and upon application to the board and payment of a fee of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), the board shall convert an eating place retail dispensing license to a restaurant license without regard to the quota restrictions set forth in section 461(a). The converted restaurant license shall be subject to the provisions of this act governing restaurant liquor licenses. The provisions of this subsection allowing a holder of an eating place retail dispensing license to convert the license to a restaurant liquor license shall only apply to a license holder whose license is not subject to a pending objection by the director of the Bureau of Licensing or the board under section 470(a.1), until the matter is decided. A conversion under this subsection shall be considered a transfer or issuance of a new license for the purposes of section 402.⁷ This subsection does not apply to licenses in a city of the first class.