Judge orders Texas prisons to add air conditioning
The gist
A federal judge ordered Texas to air-condition all 104 prisons by the end of 2029.
The ruling affects nearly 89,000 inmates and could cost about $1.5 billion.
How it unfolded
- Sep 17, 2026Texas prison officials asked lawmakers for $298 million to add more than 15,700 air-conditioned beds over two years; as of Sept. 1 the agency had 53,676 air-conditioned beds.
- Sep 22, 2026Judge Robert Pitman issued a 150-page order requiring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to immediately create and implement a plan and finish installing air conditioning in all prisons no later than Dec. 31, 2029.
- Sep 22, 2026The ruling noted that 38 of 104 units are fully air conditioned and that TDCJ has estimated fully cooling the system could cost approximately $1.5 billion.