About the Board

About the Liquor Board

The State of Maryland empowers the Board of License Commissioners (commonly referred to as the Liquor Board) to administer and enforce the provisions of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The Board has adopted its own Rules and Regulations necessary to carry out its duties under Article 2B.

The Board of License Commissioners is comprised of 3 board members who are appointed by the Governor of Maryland and serve staggered 6 year terms. The appointees are designated to serve as chairman, secretary and treasurer.

The Board of License Commissioners employs an administrator to oversee daily functions, an administrative assistant and two inspectors who are responsible for conducting inspections and/or surveillance investigations of licensed facilities to ensure compliance with all applicable state and county laws, rules and regulations.

The Liquor Board Staff:

Processes new liquor license applications and requests such as: ownership transfer, change of location, change of name, extension of premises, officer changes, change of license type, etc.
Maintains license records and handles all correspondence
Schedules and attends all Board meetings and public hearings for licensees
Responds to daily inquiries regarding alcoholic beverage licenses and laws

Liquor Board Members:

Robert L. Everhart, Chairman - Appointed - June, 2009
William F. Dunham, Secretary - Appointed - June, 2005
Charles F. Mades, Treasurer - Appointed - June, 2007

Staff members:

Vaun Marie Miles, Administrator
Kelly Carr, Administrative Assistant

Robert L Shoemaker, Inspector
Richard L. Koontz, Inspector

Liquor Board Functions

The Liquor Board meets every Wednesday from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at 148 West Washington Street, Hagerstown, Maryland, with the exception of certain holidays. The Board issues all liquor licenses for Washington County, approves/disapproves license transfers, issues “one day” liquor licenses for non profit organizations and renews all liquor licenses on an annual basis (March 1-March 31). In addition, the Board holds hearing on violations of Article 2B or the Washington County Liquor Board Rules and Regulations. The Board can impose monetary penalties, suspend or revoke licenses upon a finding of licensee misconduct resulting in a violation.