House Bill 2704 amends existing sections of chapter 71.09 RCW to change how “less restrictive alternatives” (LRA) for persons civilly committed as sexually violent predators are developed, operated, and approved. The bill specifies that LRAs must be run by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) or by providers under contract with DSHS, gives DSHS primary responsibility and exclusive authority to solicit and contract statewide for housing and treatment (using an RFP process subject to available appropriations), and grants DSHS oversight powers including inspections, rulemaking for fees, contract termination, a statewide inventory of contracted providers, and a biannual report to the legislature and governor on placement availability and compliance with county “fair share” principles. The bill imposes procedural requirements on courts before ordering conditional release to an LRA by amending RCW 71.09.092: the court must find six specific facts including that a qualified treatment provider will deliver and report on a specific course of treatment, that compliant housing operated by DSHS or a DSHS contractor exists and will report unauthorized departures, that DSHS has considered fair share principles if proposing out‑of‑county placement, and that the person is willing to comply with treatment and Department of Corrections supervision. The community protection program under RCW 71A.12.230 is expressly excluded as an LRA. The bill also adds procedural standards for evaluating and approving LRA housing vendors and placements, requiring consideration of zoning and building code compliance, basic housing utilities and condition, access to public services, proximity to treatment and employment, GPS reliability, and client‑specific factors such as treatment fit, criminogenic needs, protective factors, and personal care needs; housing providers must provide proof of local code compliance. These are administrative and procedural changes to existing law rather than creation of new crimes or changes to criminal penalties. Sections 1 and 2 take effect August 1, 2027. The text available is incomplete: the remainder of the housing matrix language in RCW 71.09.097(2), the full effective date language for the entire act, and any other amendments or sections not included here are not provided.

If enacted, the Department of Social and Health Services becomes the central agency that must develop, solicit, contract for, inspect, and oversee all housing and treatment programs used as “less restrictive alternatives” for sexually violent predators, using a request‑for‑proposal process when money is provided. Providers will have to prove they meet local zoning and building codes and basic housing standards, agree to monitoring and reporting, and be evaluated based on proximity to treatment, public services, employment, GPS reliability, and the individual’s treatment and risk needs. Courts will be required to make specific findings about the provider, housing, treatment plan, DOC supervision, the person’s willingness to comply, and county fair‑share efforts before ordering conditional release. The people and organizations most affected are DSHS (which will need staff, contracting, inspection, and reporting capacity and therefore will likely need new funding but only as appropriated), housing and treatment vendors (who will face compliance costs, contractual oversight, and possible inspections), counties (which will be subject to “fair share” placement planning and may still see placements outside their borders), courts, DOC supervising officers, and the individuals considered for release. Because key implementation details about the housing planning matrix and some sections of the bill text are missing, it is unclear exactly how placements will be prioritized, how much funding will be made available, and how quickly new placements can be developed, so releases could be delayed if suitable, contracted housing and treatment are not in place.