State senator renews push to address extreme heat in prisons
Pete Harckham and his co-sponsors are now calling on the governor to support this legislation.
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While we wait for cooler days to come, a state senator renewed his push to analyze the impact of extreme heat on incarcerated individuals and people working in prisons.
Pete Harckham told News 12 that he is a sponsor behind a bill that would require the Department of Corrections to create a heat mitigation plan.
Specifically, a plan that would help people who reside and work at correctional facilities across the state have access to more showers, water, and cooling stations when it's hot.
While Harckham said the bill is passed by the Assembly and the state Senate, he added that he and his co-sponsors are now calling on the governor to support this legislation.
"This is a public health issue, this is a humanitarian issue, it's a labor issue," Harckham said. "This shouldn't be a controversial thing."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Department of Corrections said they don't comment on pending legislation.
However, they did add that the department has issued recommendations in the past for those susceptible to heat-related illnesses to take necessary precautions to stay cool as temperatures rise.
