State Rep. Walt Blackman calls for oversight before more prison cooling funding

State Rep. Walt Blackman says Arizona should not approve a $131 million request to improve prison cooling systems without first establishing stronger oversight, and he plans to hold a legislative hearing on the issue.

“I don’t think we should give them a dime until we set up that oversight,” the Republican told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show. “We need to think about taxpayer dollars.”

Prison Director Ryan Thornell is asking lawmakers for the money to add air conditioning to eight units at Lewis and Tucson prisons, with construction completed by 2031, ABC15 reported.

Department records show 24 prison units still lack modern air conditioning or are only partly renovated after four years of reduced or eliminated replacement funding.

Blackman said he wants records detailing cooling outages, heat-related casualties and how long problems have persisted.

He also questioned whether earlier funding was spent as intended.

Blackman previously pushed to fund an independent prison oversight office created under a law Gov. Katie Hobbs signed in July 2025. In January, he introduced legislation seeking $1.5 million to operate the office, which remained unfunded at the time.

At Lewis Prison, a cooling system failure during a July heat wave took four days to repair, according to ABC15.

“It’s not for comfort, it’s not for luxury. It is for survival,” Marissa Luna, whose son is incarcerated there, told the affiliate.

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