US prison systems seek funding for HVAC and air conditioning

Prison departments in Arizona and Texas are seeking significant funding to expand air conditioning systems to combat extreme heat.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry has requested over $130 million to complete HVAC installation projects in state prisons. This request follows previous funding cuts due to budget deficits, which left more than 6,500 prison beds without completed air conditioning. The request comes amid investigations into prison deaths and record-breaking summer temperatures in the region.

In Texas, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is requesting $298 million to add more than 15,700 air-conditioned beds over the next two years. While the state has approved hundreds of millions for such projects in recent years, the agency estimates that a total of approximately $1.5 billion would be required to fully air-condition the entire state prison system.