47 Pa. Stat. § 4-464
The board may of its own motion, and shall upon the written request of any applicant for club, hotel or restaurant liquor license, or any applicant for any malt or brewed beverage license other than a public service license, or for renewal or transfer thereof, or for the renewal of an amusement permit, whose application for such license, renewal or transfer, or the renewal of an amusement permit, has been refused, fix a time and place for hearing of such application for license or for renewal or transfer thereof, or the renewal of an amusement permit, notice of which hearing shall be mailed to the applicant at the address given in his application. Such hearing shall be before a hearing examiner designated by the board. At such hearing, the board shall present its reasons for its refusal or withholding of license, renewal or transfer thereof, or its refusal for renewal of an amusement permit. The applicant may appear in person or by counsel, may cross-examine the witnesses for the board and may present evidence which shall likewise be subject to cross-examination by the board. Such hearing shall be stenographically recorded. The hearing examiner shall thereafter report, with the examiner's recommendation, to the board in each case. The board shall thereupon grant or refuse the license, renewal or transfer thereof or the renewal of an amusement permit. In considering the renewal of a license or amusement permit, the board shall not refuse any such renewal on the basis of the propriety of the original issuance or any prior renewal of such license or amusement permit. If the board shall refuse such license, renewal or transfer or the renewal of an amusement permit, following such hearing, notice in writing of such refusal shall be mailed to the applicant at the address given in his application. In all such cases, the board shall file of record at least a brief statement in the form of an opinion of the reasons for the ruling or order and furnish a copy thereof to the applicant. Any applicant who has appeared at any hearing, as above provided, who is aggrieved by the refusal of the board to issue any such license or to renew or transfer any such license or to issue or renew any amusement permit may appeal, or any church, hospital, charitable institution, school or public playground located within three hundred feet of the premises applied for, aggrieved by the action of the board in granting the issuance of any such license or the transfer of any such license, may take an appeal limited to the question of such grievance, within twenty days from date of refusal or grant, to the court of common pleas of the county in which the premises or permit applied for is located. If the application is for an economic development license under section 461(b.1) or the intermunicipal transfer of a license, the governing body of the municipality receiving the new license or the transferred license may file an appeal of the board decision granting the license, within twenty days of the date of the board's decision, to the court of common pleas of the county in which the proposed premises is located. Such appeal shall be upon petition of the aggrieved party, who shall serve a copy thereof upon the board, whereupon a hearing shall be held upon the petition by the court upon ten days' notice to the board. The said appeal shall act as a supersedeas unless upon sufficient cause shown the court shall determine otherwise. The court shall hear the application de novo on questions of fact, administrative discretion and such other matters as are involved, at such time as it shall fix, of which notice shall be given to the board. The court shall either sustain or over-rule the action of the board and either order or deny the issuance of a new license or the renewal or transfer of the license or the renewal of an amusement permit to the applicant.
47 P.S. § 4-464