(a) Upon receipt of the completed application, fee, and bond if required, the commissioner shall conduct any investigation he or she considers necessary to determine the accuracy of the matters contained in the completed application. For the purposes of conducting such investigation, the commissioner may withhold the granting or refusal to grant a license for a period not to exceed 30 days or until the applicant has completed the conditions set forth in §60-8-16 of this code. If it appears that the applicant is a suitable person, is located at a suitable premise, there is no false statement, no material misrepresentations, no hidden ownership, no persons with an undisclosed pecuniary interest contained in the application, and that the issuance of the license would not be in conflict with any of the provisions of this chapter, the commissioner shall issue the license. Otherwise the commissioner shall refuse to issue such license.

(b) The commissioner shall refuse the license of any applicant if he or she finds that such applicant is not a suitable person, that the place of business of such applicant is not a suitable place, or that such applicant has not complied with the provisions of this chapter. Upon refusal to issue such license, the commissioner shall enter an order refusing such application. The refusal is final unless a hearing is requested in accordance with the provisions of §60-8-18 of this code. When such refusal becomes final the commissioner shall immediately refund to the applicant his or her fees and bond accompanying the application.

(c) The license expires on June 30 next following the date it was issued and may be renewed upon the same showing as required for the issuance of the initial license, together with the payment of fee and filing of any bond required by this article.

(d) A licensee that fails to complete a renewal application and make payment of its annual license fee in renewing its license on or before June 30 of any subsequent year, after initial application, shall be charged an additional $150 reactivation fee. The licensee must pay the applicable full-year annual license fee and the reactivation fee prior to the processing of any renewal application. A licensee who continues to operate upon the expiration of its license is subject to all fines, penalties, and sanctions available in §11-16-23 of this code, as determined by the commissioner.

(e) Such license shall not be transferred to another person, but the location of the premises to which the license relates may be changed with the written consent of the commissioner, if the new location satisfies the requirements of this article upon an initial application and payment of a new application fee.