Sponsors (19)
Requires BOP to install temperature sensors and upgrade HVAC, set temperature standards, provide free mitigation supplies, require CDC protections, and report costs and health outcomes.
Official title: To improve response to, and preparation for, extreme temperatures, in Federal correctional facilities.
Introduced July 6, 2026 by Alma Adams · Last progress July 6, 2026
The bill would substantially improve heat- and cold-related safety for incarcerated people and staff and create stronger oversight, but it requires significant, likely uncapped federal spending and could strain BOP operations and cause temporary disruptions while implementation and upgrades proceed.
People incarcerated in federal, Bureau of Prisons, and Director-operated facilities—especially those who are elderly, pregnant, disabled, or have chronic illnesses—will face substantially lower risk of heat- and cold-related illness or death because the bill requires temperature standards, HVAC upgrades/retrofits, ongoing monitoring, and remediation of broken systems.
Bureau of Prisons staff and other federal employees working in these facilities will have improved workplace safety and fewer heat- and cold-related illnesses due to upgraded HVAC, WBGT-based exposure limits, clearer operational protocols, and required seasonal training.
People confined in these facilities will gain faster, low-cost protections (e.g., free water, fans, cooling towels, blankets, interim manual temperature checks) that reduce acute risk while longer-term upgrades are implemented.
Federal taxpayers and the federal budget face substantial new and uncapped costs because the bill authorizes open-ended funding for HVAC upgrades, monitoring systems, training, supplies, and expanded oversight, and reports may reveal large maintenance backlogs requiring major appropriations.
The BOP and related agencies may be strained by aggressive deadlines and added implementation responsibilities, forcing reallocation of staff, contracting resources, and budgets away from other programs or maintenance priorities.
Construction, retrofits, transfers, temporary lockdowns, and curtailment of programs or recreational/work activities during upgrades could cause disruption, discomfort, and loss of services for incarcerated people in the near term.
Based on analysis of 11 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Bureau of Prisons to measure, limit, and respond to extreme indoor temperatures in federal prisons by installing temperature sensors and upgrading HVAC systems, setting mandatory temperature standards, supplying free heat- and cold-mitigation items to incarcerated people, and reporting to Congress. It also directs inspections by the DOJ Inspector General, a CDC study and standards for medically vulnerable people, staff heat-exposure protections, and recurring cost and health reporting. Authorizes funding as needed for fiscal years 2026–2031 for HVAC installation and updates, phases in device installation over five years, and sets shorter deadlines (1–2 years) for staff protections, mitigation supplies, training, and reporting requirements.