OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Steve Hobbs delivered official notification to the Legislature Tuesday that signature verification has been completed and certified for an Initiative to the Legislature:
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2117 concerning carbon tax credit trading.
Previously, Secretary Hobbs notified the Legislature Jan. 11 that signature verification had been completed for Initiative to the Legislature no. 2113. The signatures on the remaining four pending initiative petitions are being verified by the Office of the Secretary of State Elections Division team using a state-mandated process of examining a 3% random sample of submitted signatures.
If sufficient signatures are verified, the Legislature may approve an initiative or send it to voters. If an initiative is rejected by the Legislature or the Legislature takes no action by the end of the Legislative session on March 7, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative for the next General Election. The Legislature may also pass an alternative proposal to accompany an initiative on the ballot.
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.