TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On Wednesday, lawmakers announced the filing of a bill that calls for every state prison in Florida to provide "a portable air conditioner or air-cooling system."
Currently, most of Florida's state prisons do not have air conditioning.
Bill sponsor, Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon, said it's about safety.
“Every Floridian deserves to be safe, and this includes all of the folks in Florida state prisons, whether they’re incarcerated individuals, correctional officers, or volunteers. Many folks I talk to cannot believe that air conditioning is not a requirement in Florida state prisons, jeopardizing the safety of all of the people inside," Nixon said.
In the midst of record-breaking heat this summer, the ABC Action News I-Team traveled to Orlando, where advocates raised awareness about what they call a crisis.
Related story: Record-high temperatures prompt 'heat crisis' in Florida prisons without air conditioning
At that gathering in September, Ruben Saldaña, who spent nearly 20 years in prison and now mentors Orlando-area kids, said that's because of the problems the heat causes.
“That’s when the violence comes out. That’s when the officers are no longer safe within the institutions themselves," Saldaña said. I’m not saying give us a golf course. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying create conditions where it’s not so dangerous.”
I-Team Series | Crisis in Corrections
At Lowell Correctional Institution, the state is testing portable air conditioning units.
Democratic State Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson's district includes the women's prison.
"This is a state crisis," she said. "If you’re locked up in a prison, in a hot dormitory, and you don’t have air conditioning, this is a human rights violation, and the state has to do something about it.”
This week, consultants hired to put together a prison system master plan told lawmakers that over the next 20 years, air conditioning could cost $582 million.
While debate will continue over funding, Republican State Senator Jonathan Martin said something needs to be done.
“We need to have our facilities upgraded and make sure that they’re doing their job and that the corrections officers can focus on their safety," Martin said.
In December, the Department of Corrections is expected to release a comprehensive report on the needs of Florida's state prison system, from infrastructure to addressing medical and aging prison population to programming.
