bill keeping prisons between 65 and 85 degrees

The text as introduced · 698 words

89R11000 BCH-F

By: Bryant
H.B. No. 2997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the temperature at which certain facilities operated by

the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are maintained.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 501, Government Code, is

amended by adding Sections 501.028 and 501.029 to read as follows:

Sec. 501.028. TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS AT DEPARTMENT

FACILITIES. (a) The department shall ensure that the temperature

in each facility operated by the department and used to house

inmates or in which department staff regularly work is maintained

at not less than 65 degrees Fahrenheit or more than 85 degrees

Fahrenheit.

(b) The department shall install and maintain an electronic

temperature gauge in the following areas of each facility described

by Subsection (a):

(1) hospitals;

(2) visiting areas;

(3) housing or dormitory areas;

(4) trustee areas;

(5) areas used for medical treatment or care,

including areas used for dispensing medication to inmates;

(6) kitchens or dining areas;

(7) food preparation areas;

(8) community areas, including dayrooms;

(9) laundry areas;

(10) areas used for work stations;

(11) indoor recreational areas, including gymnasiums;

(12) restroom and shower areas and other areas related

to inmate hygiene;

(13) administrative areas;

(14) correctional officer stations, including guard

post areas;

(15) commissary areas;

(16) areas used for programmatic, educational, or

vocational purposes;

(17) chapels or churches;

(18) libraries; and

(19) maintenance areas.

(c) The department shall:

(1) maintain a log of the temperatures recorded by

each electronic temperature gauge under Subsection (b) on an hourly

basis in an electronic format; and

(2) publish the log, at least quarterly, on the

department's publicly accessible Internet website.

Sec. 501.029. REPORT REGARDING AIR CONDITIONING. Not later

than December 1 of each year, the department shall submit to the

governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of

representatives, and each standing committee of the legislature

with primary jurisdiction over the department a report regarding

air conditioning in facilities operated by the department and used

to house inmates or in which department staff regularly work. The

report must include the following information for the preceding

12-month period:

(1) the number of facilities in which the air

conditioning system has failed;

(2) the number of incidents in which the air

conditioning in a facility was not operational and the reason for

each incident;

(3) the number of incidents in which the temperature

was not maintained at the temperature range required under Section

501.028(a) and the reason for each incident;

(4) for each incident described by Subdivision (2)

that was due to an equipment malfunction, a summary of the steps

taken by the department to address the malfunction and ensure the

well-being of inmates and staff at the facility; and

(5) for each incident described by Subdivision (3), a

summary of the steps taken by the department to address the cause of

the incident and ensure the well-being of inmates and staff at the

facility.

SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is

not required to fully comply with the requirements of Section

501.028, Government Code, as added by this Act, until September 1,

2026.

(b) Not later than September 1, 2026, the Texas Department

of Criminal Justice shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant

governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and each

standing committee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction

over the department a report regarding the department's progress

toward complying with Section 501.028, Government Code, as added by

this Act, in all facilities to which that section applies.

(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall submit

the first report required by Section 501.029, Government Code, as

added by this Act, not later than December 1, 2027.

SECTION 3. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this

section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of

two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by

Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not

receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes

effect September 1, 2025.

(b) Section 501.029, Government Code, as added by this Act,

takes effect September 1, 2027.