Sec. 6-7-202. Powers of Licensing Authority.
(a) The Licensing Authority shall have the following powers:
(1) To issue or deny tobacco product retail license applications and renewals of the same within the Town.
(2) To impose sanctions on any license issued by the Licensing Authority on its own motion or on complaint by the Town or by any person for any violation by the licensee after investigation and public hearing at which the licensee shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard.
(3) To issue approvals and disapprovals as provided in this Article.
(4) To conduct hearings, grant or deny motions, make findings and orders, administer oaths, and issue subpoenas to require the presence of persons and the production of papers, books, and records necessary to the determination of any hearing which it is authorized to conduct.
(5) To control the mode, manner and order of all proceedings and hearings.
(6) To adopt rules, procedures and policies for its own proceedings.
(7) To adopt rules and policies for filing applications and requests.
(8) To adopt application forms and submission requirements, including a requirement that applications, complaints, and other documents be filed in a digital format approved by the Licensing Authority and to refuse applications, complaints and other documents not filed in the approved digital format.
(9) To perform any act that the Licensing Authority is authorized to perform under this Article.
(10) To perform any other act that may be implied or necessary to carry out any act that the Licensing Authority is authorized to perform under this Article.
(b) In the event that any person, in the immediate presence of the Licensing Authority or within its sight or hearing, while the Licensing Authority is in session during a hearing, commits a direct contempt of the Licensing Authority by speech, gesture, or conduct which disobeys a lawful order of the Licensing Authority, shows gross disrespect to the Licensing Authority tending to bring the Licensing Authority into public ridicule, or substantially interferes with the Licensing Authority’s proceedings, the Licensing Authority may hold such person in contempt. Contemptuous conduct by any principal, registered manager, or employee shall be imputed to the licensee.
(c) The Licensing Authority may impose the following sanctions for contempt:
(1) Removal of the person committing the contempt from the proceedings, the hearing room and its environs;
(2) Public censure, which shall be made a matter of the licensee’s record and may be used as an aggravating factor in determining any fine, suspension, or revocation;
(3) A prohibition against the individual or licensee introducing into the record testimony, documents, exhibits, or other evidence;
(4) An order striking, disregarding and refusing to consider pleadings, applications, documents, objections, testimony, exhibits, or other evidence or arguments already introduced by such person;
(5) A fine, enforced by suspension of the license until the fine is paid;
(6) Default of any motion, complaint, or other action then pending against the licensee; or
(7) Denial of any application by the licensee then pending before the Licensing Authority. (Ord. 1499 §1 (Exh. A), 2020)