The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has asked state lawmakers for $298 million over the next two years to add more than 15,700 air-conditioned beds, The Texas Tribune reported. The agency also requested $591.8 million to build climate-controlled expansion dorms and says the two requests together would add more than 21,000 cool beds.
The request covers only part of the problem. The agency estimates that cooling every prison would cost about $1.5 billion, and nearly two-thirds of Texas' 104 prisons are not fully air-conditioned, according to agency figures. Indoor summer temperatures in many units routinely top 100 degrees, and U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, who is overseeing a lawsuit over prison heat, has previously called the conditions "plainly unconstitutional."
The health stakes are concentrated among people whose bodies handle heat poorly. Older prisoners, people with heart disease, diabetes, or mental illness, and those taking common medications that interfere with cooling face the highest risk. Correctional officers and other staff work in the same buildings.
A Budget Request Far Below the Agency's Court Timeline
In a June court filing, the agency outlined a two-phase plan to air-condition all prisons, saying it could commit $774 million in the 2028 to 2029 budget and another $730.7 million in the following two years. Advocates for incarcerated people say the new $298 million request puts the state well behind that schedule.
The agency says the request is more than double what it sought and received in the last legislative session. Lawmakers provided $85 million in 2023 and $118 million the following session to add about 29,000 cool beds, plus more than $400 million in 2025 for air-conditioned dorms and the purchase of an existing climate-controlled lockup.
In a statement to the Tribune, the agency said its requests show "significant and measurable progress" on cool beds. Erica Grossman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, called the smaller request "more deliberate indifference."
State leaders have told agencies to cut 3% from their budget requests, which the prison agency said amounts to about $287 million. The agency has also cited rural locations, aging buildings, construction delays from contraband searches, and competition for equipment from data center construction as obstacles to faster installation.
Heat Strains Aging Bodies and Common Medications
Heat illness is not only about temperature. The body cools itself by sweating and moving blood toward the skin, and age, chronic disease, and medications can weaken both responses. Older adults may also sense thirst less readily.
The CDC's heat and medications guidance for clinicians lists commonly prescribed drugs that raise heat risk, including diuretics, anticholinergic medications, and some psychiatric medications. Certain combinations, such as an ACE inhibitor or ARB blood pressure drug taken with a diuretic, may significantly increase the risk of harm from heat. These drug classes are widely used to treat high blood pressure, heart disease, and mental illness.
Research on Texas prisons points in the same direction. A study led by Brown University researchers and published in JAMA Network Open in 2022 estimated that about 13% of deaths during warm months in Texas prisons without air conditioning, or 271 deaths from 2001 to 2019, may be attributable to extreme heat. The researchers estimated no heat-related deaths in prisons with air conditioning.
That study is observational and relies on modeling, so it estimates population-level risk rather than the cause of any single death. It found that each 1-degree rise above 85 degrees Fahrenheit was associated with about a 0.7% increase in the daily risk of death in prisons without cooling.
Disputed Death Counts and Acknowledged Heat Illness
The number of recent heat deaths remains contested. Court documents show at least 23 heat-related deaths in Texas prisons between 1998 and 2012. The lawsuit alleges at least 10 more from 2023 to 2025, including three people whose 2023 autopsy reports mention heat as a possible contributing factor.
The agency disputes the recent figure and has argued that those deaths could reflect drug overdoses or other medical conditions. The only recent death it has reported as likely heat-related involved a man who collapsed while playing soccer in a recreation yard at the Goree Unit in Huntsville.
The agency's court filing acknowledged more than 150 cases of heat-related illness among incarcerated people and staff since 2022, and inmates have filed thousands of heat-related grievances. The agency points to cooled respite rooms, water, cold showers, fans, cooling towels, and a heat score system that flags people at higher risk.
Advocates say those measures offer only temporary relief and do not reach everyone. For example, a person must have less than $5 in a prison account for 180 days to qualify as indigent and receive a free fan, according to the Tribune.
A Federal Ruling and a January Session Will Shape Next Summer
Pitman heard a two-week trial on prison heat earlier this year and has not said when he will rule. The plaintiffs are asking him to order air conditioning throughout the prison system by the end of 2029. Lawmakers will weigh the agency's request when the legislative session opens in January.
For families with a loved one in a Texas prison, a useful step is to ask about heat protections that apply now. Older relatives, have heart disease or diabetes, or take psychiatric or blood pressure medications can ask unit medical staff whether they have been flagged under the heat score system and how to reach a respite area.
Warning signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, and headache. A high body temperature, confusion, fainting, or a rapid pulse can signal heat stroke, a medical emergency that requires immediate cooling and care.
The central uncertainty is whether the court or lawmakers will require full cooling, and on what timeline. Until then, next summer's risk will depend largely on which units receive new air conditioning first.
Key Questions Answered
What is Texas' prison agency asking for? It wants $298 million over two years to add more than 15,700 air-conditioned beds, plus $591.8 million for climate-controlled expansion dorms.
How much would it cost to cool every prison? The Texas Department of Criminal Justice estimates about $1.5 billion.
How many Texas prisons lack full air conditioning? Nearly two-thirds of the state's 104 prisons are not fully air-conditioned.
Who faces the greatest heat risk inside prisons? Older people, those with heart disease, diabetes, or mental illness, and people taking medications such as diuretics or some psychiatric drugs.
How many heat deaths have occurred? Court records show at least 23 from 1998 to 2012. A lawsuit alleges at least 10 more from 2023 to 2025, which the state disputes.
What are the warning signs of heat stroke? High body temperature, confusion, fainting, and a rapid pulse. Heat stroke requires emergency care and immediate cooling.
What happens next? A federal judge is weighing whether to order full cooling, and the Legislature will consider the budget request starting in January.
