Texas is appealing a federal judge’s order requiring air conditioning in all state prisons by the end of 2029, arguing that the deadline could disrupt prison operations and compete with other safety needs. The state has also asked U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman to pause the order while the appeal is considered by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In an Oct. 8 filing, state lawyers said a pause would prevent “chaos and confusion” as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice carries out its own cooling plans and seeks money for other priorities, including health care, contraband detection and prison expansion. The agency says it intends to install air conditioning throughout its system, but has not set a completion deadline and estimates the work will cost about $1.5 billion. Pitman issued the order Sept. 22 after finding that extreme heat in uncooled prisons violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. He said Texas’ response to dangerous heat had been inadequate and cited evidence of injuries, suffering and at least nine heat-related inmate deaths between 2023 and 2025. The agency disputes that all nine deaths were caused by heat, pointing to other possible factors, including medical conditions and drug overdoses. The order applies to all 104 facilities run by TDCJ. As of Oct. 1, just over one-third were fully climate controlled, leaving roughly 90,000 incarcerated Texans without air conditioning. TDCJ projects it will have 90,000 cooled beds in 2028, but the state’s prison population is expected to exceed 150,000 that year. The case began in 2023 after Bernie Tiede, an incarcerated person who experienced a medical emergency amid extreme heat, filed a complaint. Prisoner-rights groups later joined and expanded the suit to cover people held in uncooled state facilities. Pitman found in 2025 that prison heat was likely unconstitutional punishment, then held a two-week trial in Austin in early 2026 before issuing his final ruling. The state argues that the legal standard for proving “deliberate indifference” is difficult to meet and says the agency is taking steps to address heat, even if its response is imperfect. Plaintiffs’ attorney Erica Grossman said the groups would oppose the request to suspend the order. She criticized the state for spending resources contesting the ruling rather than installing cooling systems. The dispute also puts prison funding before state lawmakers as they prepare the 2028-29 budget. TDCJ previously described a two-stage plan that would require $774.3 million in the current budget cycle and another $730.7 million in the next. Its August budget request instead sought $298 million for climate control and $591.8 million for cooled expansion dorms, which the agency said together would provide more than 21,000 additional cooled beds. Plaintiffs’ lawyers have argued that building new dorms is not equivalent to directly cooling existing prison units. TDCJ leaders have also warned that a separate 3% spending reduction could cost the agency $287 million and force the elimination of more than 1,300 positions, potentially including correctional officers. The 2027 legislative session begins in January. Texas law sets a temperature range for county jails but does not impose a comparable requirement on state prisons.