The Texas Construction News staff writer
AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is appealing a federal judge’s mandate to install climate control across all its prison facilities by the end of 2029, continuing a yearslong legal dispute over TDCJ air conditioning construction projects.
State attorneys filed the appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 8, arguing that the timeline imposes “chaos and confusion” on ongoing operational and safety efforts.
In late September, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ordered the state to complete the estimated $1.5 billion retrofit across the country’s largest prison system. The court determined that the extreme heat in uncooled facilities violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment, creating inhumane conditions for inmates.
As of Oct. 1, the TDCJ reported that 38 of its 104 facilities were fully air-conditioned, while 53 were partially cooled. The state has indicated that 53,676 cool beds are currently available, with roughly 23,738 more under construction and thousands more in the procurement and design phases.
Despite the ongoing construction, plaintiffs and advocacy groups estimate nearly 90,000 incarcerated individuals remain without air conditioning. The agency’s recent legislative appropriations request sought $289 million specifically for cooling installations, which falls significantly short of the total funding needed for system-wide compliance by the end of the decade.
