CDCR seeks pilot funding to cool prison housing units; LAO urges reporting and statewide strategy

CDCR asked the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 to approve one‑time funds for a pilot project to install and evaluate air‑cooling alternatives at four prisons; Legislative Analyst’s Office staff recommended the Legislature require an evaluation and a statewide scaling strategy and requested near‑term reporting to inform oversight.

CDCR’s Division of Facility Planning, Construction and Management Director Dave Lewis described the problem as a combination of rising extreme heat events and facility construction that retains heat. Lewis told the subcommittee the department’s current indoor standard for housing units is 89 degrees and that many housing units do not have effective mechanical cooling. He said roughly 52 percent of housing units use evaporative cooling, 24 percent have some mechanical cooling, about 19 percent have no cooling option but have an air handler, and about 5 percent rely solely…