The board that runs the Texas prison system approved at its August 25th meeting, the operating the budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
The Texas board of criminal justice discussed a record $85 million dollars given by state lawmakers to provide air conditioning to more, but not the remainder, of state prisons that don’t have air conditioning.
The TDCJ board also received updates on the installation of air conditioning that is taking place at the Johnson and Gist units.
The last hour of the meeting, prison board members heard public comments. Most speakers called for speeding up the addition of air conditioning on a temporary and permanent basis.
Public speakers included mothers of inmates who have died and have been injured while incarcerated in non-air conditioned units.
Click below for comments during the August 25, 2023 Texas board of criminal justice meeting from mothers of inmates, members of the state prison board, and administrators of the state’s prison system.