Kirby

We granted a writ to review decisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board (hereafter “board”), which decisions *362 reversed three orders of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (hereafter “department”) suspending on-sale liquor licenses of real parties in interest (hereafter “licensees”), for violations of department rule 143.3.

Department determined that the violations were sufficient to establish grounds for suspension or revocation of the licenses pursuant to the provisions of article XX, section 22, of the California Constitution and section 24200, subdivisions (a) and (b), of the Business and Professions Code.

Although the board agreed with the department’s findings that rule 143.3 had been repeatedly violated by the licensees, it accepted the argument of the licensees that the rule conflicted with sections 318.5 and 318.6 of the Penal Code and was therefore void and of no effect. 3 We *363 have concluded that the board erred as a matter of law and that the board’s decisions must be annulled.

In tracing the history of the department’s regulations, we find that the department’s attempts to discipline licensees who employed “topless”…