If any applicant for licensure is rejected by the board, then the applicant may commence an action in the superior court as provided in Section 2019 against the board to compel it to issue the applicant a certificate or for any other appropriate relief. If the applicant is denied a certificate on the grounds of unprofessional conduct, the provisions of Article 12 (commencing with Section 2220) shall apply. In such an action the court shall proceed under Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except that the court may not exercise an independent judgment on the evidence. The action shall be speedily determined by the court and shall take precedence over all matters pending therein except criminal cases, applications for injunction, or other matters to which special precedence may be given by law.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 775, Sec. 40. (SB 798) Effective January 1, 2018.)