GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — As summer approaches, lawmakers in Texas are taking steps that could lead to climate control in our state prisons.
The Texas House approved House Bill 3006 in May. The bill would require air conditioning in the more than 100 prison units across the state, with temperature requirements between 65 and 85 degrees in certain areas.
This comes after several legislative attempts, legal actions, and advocacy efforts by criminal justice reform groups. Supporters of the bill said the lack of climate control in prisons has long been a concern, especially during the summer months.
Marci Simmons, director of community engagement for the Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance, spent nearly 10 years in a Central Texas prison. In an interview from August 2024 with 25 News’ Allison Hill, she described the heat many inmates experience.
“When you sit in your car and close the door for those few seconds before you turn the ignition on and you just feel this heavy, oppressive heat – that is the kind of heat we're talking about,” Simmons said.
Now, Hill and Simmons spoke again, after the bill passed in the Texas House.
“There’s been lots of momentum,” she said. “I think in the past two or three years, there's been an influx of formerly incarcerated people getting out of prison and speaking up and, and actually telling their firsthand experiences of what it's like to live inside of those temperatures and see people get ill and even lose their life.”
If passed by the Senate, the bill would take effect in phases. Construction would be scheduled for completion in 2028, 2030 and 2032. Each phase would be capped at $100 million.
Simmons said the legislation represents a shift in how prison conditions are being addressed at the Capitol.
“I think we're living in kind of that historical time right now where big changes are happening. I think last year I felt hopeful. Last session I felt hopeful. Five years ago, absolutely not. Five years ago, I never would have believed that this bill would get to the House floor, and get voted in,” she said.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration before the legislative session ends Monday.
“Most of the people in prison did not commit a crime that is eligible for the death sentence, and these temperatures are quite literally taking people's lives,” Simmons said. “We're not talking about a level of comfort here. We're asking for 85 degrees or under, nobody is sitting in their house at 84 degrees thinking, man, this feels great.”
