(a) Applications for new permits will be accepted by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division after the publication of new census figures if the applications are warranted within a county or subdivision thereof.
(b) When it has been determined that new applications are appropriate, the division shall notify the public at large by legal notice that it will be accepting applications for a particular county or political subdivision thereof.
(c) Applications will then be accepted from the affected area beginning thirty (30) days after the date of publication, and no applications will be accepted after ninety (90) days of the publication date.
(d) All applications received from the affected area will then be processed and set for an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board meeting. The board meeting shall not be earlier than one hundred fifty (150) days after the publication of the legal notice specified in subsection (b) of this section, nor later than one hundred eighty (180) days after publication.
(e) No later than fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing, each applicant for a new permit or his or her agent will be allowed to draw a number between one (1) and a number equal to the number of applicants having filed. The drawing will be conducted by the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. Position numbers may not be assigned or transferred.
(f) At the meeting the applications will be heard in order of the numbers drawn. There will only be as many applications heard as will equal the number of new permits allowed in the county or subdivision thereof.
(g)
(1) If the board finds that an applicant is qualified and that his or her proposed premises meet the public convenience and advantage of the area in question, then in that event the application will be approved.
(2) No permit will issue earlier than thirty (30) days subsequent to the determination or until such time as the board determines it is necessary for final adjudication in the Arkansas courts, of any appeals arising out of such determinations, whichever is longer.
(h) If the board has denied an application and the decision is not appealed or is upheld on appeal, then additional hearings will be held according to numbers already assigned in accordance with this section.
(i) There shall be an initial application fee of two thousand dollars ($2,000). In the event an applicant is not successful in his or her application, one thousand dollars ($1,000) of that sum shall be refunded.
(j) The annual permit renewal fee for permits authorized by this section and §§ 3-4-201 and 3-4-202 will be the same as the renewal fee provided by § 3-4-604 and § 3-7-111(a)(1)(D), or any subsequent amendments thereto.
(k) The provisions of this section shall apply only to applications for permits to dispense vinous (except wines), spirituous, or malt liquor filed with the board after July 4, 1983.