4. a. Application for a license under this act shall be made by the owner to the appropriate licensing authority. The application shall be in such form, and shall contain such information and declarations and be accompanied by such application fee, not exceeding $200, as may be prescribed by resolution of the licensing authority, and shall be filed with the municipal clerk or the secretary of the licensing board, if such a board is established in the municipality. The form of application prescribed by the licensing authority shall require the submission of such information and supporting documentation as provide a basis upon which the licensing authority may conduct the investigation and reach the conclusions required under this act for the issuance or denial of a license. To the extent that the form of application requires the furnishing of information by the operator, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant owner to obtain such information and to exercise due care and diligence to assure its completeness and accuracy. The licensing authority may require that information required from the operator be duly sworn to by the operator in order to form a valid part of the application.

b. An application filed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall include a deposit in full of the prescribed application fee, of which 90% shall be refunded if the application is denied, and 10% retained and employed in defraying the expenses of the licensing authority in carrying out its functions under this act.

c. All applications by a natural person, partnership or unincorporated association of natural persons shall be duly sworn to by each of the applicants. An application by a corporation shall be duly sworn to by the president or vice president of the corporation. All statements in an application shall be deemed material, and any person who knowingly misstates any material fact therein shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

d. Every applicant for a license shall, after filing the application, cause notice of the pendency of the application to be published, in a form prescribed by the licensing authority, once a week for two weeks successively in a newspaper, printed in the English language, published and circulated in the county in which the premises for which the license, or renewal thereof, are located. The notice shall include the time and place of the public hearing prescribed in section 6 of this act, and the second publication thereof shall be made not less than one week nor more than two weeks prior to the date set by the licensing authority for that hearing.

L.1993,c.290,s.4.