Washington state has relaunched rulemaking that will pave the way for linking the state’s cap-and-trade program with the already-linked programs of California and Quebec.

The specter of a November referendum on Washington’s cap-and-invest program hovered over the state Senate when it passed a bill to link the program with the California-Quebec system.

A bill to link Washington’s cap-and-trade program with the California-Quebec combined system drew no immediate opposition when it was introduced, but did collect several requests for technical changes.