The secretary of state may appoint authenticating officers and delegate to the authenticating officers power to sign for the secretary of state any document which, to have legal effect, requires the secretary of state's signature and which is of a class which the secretary of state has authorized for signature by the authenticating officers in a writing on file in the secretary of state's office. Authenticating officers shall sign in the following manner: ". . . . . ., Authenticating Officer for the Secretary of State . . . . . ."

The secretary of state may also delegate to the authenticating officers power to use the secretary of state's facsimile signature for signing any document which, to have legal effect, requires the secretary of state's signature and is of a class with respect to which the secretary of state has authorized use of his or her facsimile signature by a writing filed in the secretary of state's office. As used in this section, "facsimile signature" includes, but is not limited to, the reproduction of any authorized signature by a copper plate, a rubber stamp, or by a photographic, photostatic, or mechanical device.

The secretary of state shall effect the appointment and delegation by placing on file in the secretary of state's office in a single document the names of all persons appointed as authenticating officers and each officer's signature, a list of the classes of documents each authenticating officer is authorized to sign for the secretary of state, a copy of the secretary of state's facsimile signature, and a list of the classes of documents which each authenticating officer may sign for the secretary of state by affixing the secretary of state's facsimile signature. The secretary of state may revoke the appointment or delegation or powers by placing on file in the secretary of state's office a new single document which expressly revokes the authenticating officers and the powers delegated to them. The secretary of state shall record and index documents filed by him or her under this section, and the documents shall be open for public inspection.

The authorized signature of an authenticating officer or an authorized facsimile signature of the secretary of state shall have the same legal effect and validity as the genuine manual signature of the secretary of state.

Intent—1982 c 35: "The legislature finds that the secretary of state's office, particularly the corporations division, performs a valuable public service for the business and nonprofit corporate community, and for the state of Washington. The legislature further finds that numerous filing and other requirements of the laws relating to the secretary of state's responsibilities have not been recently updated, thereby causing problems and delays for the corporate community as well as the secretary of state's office.

To provide better service to the corporate community in this state, and to permit the secretary of state to make efficient use of state resources and improve collection of state revenues, statutory changes are necessary. It is the intent of the legislature to provide for the modernization and updating of the corporate laws and other miscellaneous filing statutes and to give the secretary of state the appropriate authority the secretary of state needs to implement the modernization and streamlining effort." [ 1982 c 35 § 1.]

Severability—1982 c 35: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1982 c 35 § 202.]

Effective dates—Application—1982 c 35: "(1) Except as provided under subsection (3) of this section, this act shall take effect July 1, 1982.

(2) Sections 6, 14, 47, 72, 75(2), 76(4), 80, 81, 97, 101, 120, 121(4), 124, 169, and 171(4) shall be construed and apply only to actions taken or documents filed after that date.

(3) Sections 39, 45, 46, 52, 61, 63, and 201 of this act shall take effect January 1, 1983." [ 1982 c 35 § 203.]