The following opinion-editorial appeared in the Free Cheney Press on Feb. 11, 2026:

Kennewick is facing a decision that will affect families for years to come: whether a home for sexually violent predators is placed in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Parents are asking reasonable questions. Law enforcement is raising legitimate concerns. Neighbors want transparency and accountability before — not after — a decision is made.

That is why I co-sponsored Senate Bill 6339 and why it is so troubling that this bill is not being allowed to move forward.

SB 6339 addressed a basic accountability problem in Washington’s system for placing sexually violent predators into what are known as less restrictive alternative housing arrangements, or LRAs. The bill required that the individual or entity responsible for supervising these offenders also be the owner of the home where they are placed. In plain terms, it would ensure that the people financially benefiting from these placements are also responsible if something goes wrong.

That should not be controversial. Accountability is not punishment. It is a reasonable safeguard.

Yet despite the urgency of this issue and growing concern from communities across the state, SB 6339 was stopped in committee. There were no amendments offered. No path forward. No serious effort to work through concerns, just a decision to let the bill die.

For Kennewick, this matters right now. The proposed placement is near schools, churches, bus routes, and neighborhoods where children live and play. Families deserve to know who owns the property, who is responsible for supervision, and who answers when conditions are violated. They deserve a system that prioritizes safety over convenience and accountability over bureaucracy.

But this is not just a Kennewick problem.

Communities across Washington are being asked to accept placements with limited notice, inconsistent oversight, and a confusing web of responsibility spread across landlords, treatment providers, and state agencies. When responsibility is fragmented, accountability disappears, and when accountability disappears, public trust erodes.

That erosion is already happening.

Washington has moved more individuals convicted of violent sexual crimes out of total confinement and into community-based housing. In theory, supervised transitions can balance rehabilitation with public safety. In practice, the system has too often failed to provide transparency, consistent monitoring, or meaningful involvement from the communities most affected.

We have seen individuals released from McNeil Island later arrested for new crimes. There have also been hundreds of documented violations tied to so-called “supervised” placements, including tampering with monitoring devices and prohibited contact. These are not abstract concerns. They are documented failures with real-world consequences.

SB 6339 is part of a broader, ongoing effort to strengthen public safety by fixing gaps in how these placements are approved and supervised. I am also sponsoring and co-sponsoring additional legislation this session to raise supervision standards, require greater transparency in siting and ownership decisions, expand safety buffers around places where children gather, and ensure courts and prosecutors have a meaningful role before any placement is approved.

Together, these proposals would have protected communities across Washington by establishing clearer rules, stronger oversight, and lasting safeguards.

That kind of oversight strengthens public safety and should be reinforced, not ignored.

When the Legislature refuses to even consider reforms like this, the message to communities is clear: your concerns come second. That is unacceptable. The most basic responsibility of government is to protect the public. When that responsibility is treated as optional, confidence in the system collapses.

I live in Kennewick. My family lives here. I walk these neighborhoods and talk with parents who are worried about what a proposed placement could mean for their kids walking to school, riding bikes, or playing outside. These concerns are not driven by fear or misinformation. They reflect lived experience and a reasonable expectation that public safety decisions put families and children first.

Blocking SB 6339 does not make Washington safer. It keeps in place a system that too often leaves families in the dark and requires neighborhoods to respond only after key decisions are already set in motion.

The Legislature can — and must — do better.

I will not give up on fixing a system that puts communities at risk, and I urge the people of Kennewick and communities across Washington not to give up either. This issue matters too much. Protecting public safety requires persistence, transparency, and a willingness to listen to the people most affected.

Neighborhoods and families deserve safety and a government willing to listen and respond.

Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, represents Washington’s 8th Legislative District.