During the 88th Texas Legislature, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice received $85 million to install air conditioning in its units.
Currently, 31 of TDCJ’s units are fully air-conditioned and 55 are partially air-conditioned for a total of 43,572 ‘cool beds,’ according to TDCJ statistics.
Since 2018, 6,948 cool beds have been built, while another 3,437 are currently under construction. 11,455 are currently ‘in design.’
The $85 million from the legislature came after the Senate rejected a House-approved bill that would have mandated all TDCJ prisons have air conditioning set between 65 and 85 degrees.
The bill, HB 1355, was filed by State Rep. Carl Sherman of Desoto. The bill was positively received in the House, which earmarked $545 million in their budget proposal in order to install full air conditioning in all Texas prisons by 2031. Sherman’s bill had bipartisan support from Reps. Alma Allen, Greg Bonnen, Terry Canales, and Jeff Leach.
Discussions of air conditioning in Texas prisons always occur during legislative years but were particularly prominent this year after the deaths of several inmates.