Texas bills requiring air-conditioned prisons languish despite temperatures being ruled unconstitutional

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. A week after a federal judge declared hot conditions in Texas prisons unconstitutional, a legislative push to require air conditioning in every state prison has not gained significant traction. None of the five bills lawmakers have filed to require prison cooling have been scheduled for a committee hearing yet, and the issue has hardly been mentioned during public hearings about how the state should allocate its estimated $194.6 billion two-year budget.