Assembly Bill 734 mandates that state correctional institutions and county jails maintain specific temperature ranges in their housing units, ensuring that temperatures do not fall below 68 degrees Fahrenheit or exceed 76 degrees Fahrenheit. The bill requires the warden or superintendent of these facilities to ensure that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are operational and to record temperatures in common areas and random cells during extreme outdoor temperatures. Additionally, the Department of Corrections (DOC) is tasked with reporting this temperature data to the legislature annually. The implementation of these temperature requirements will occur in phases, with one-third of state correctional institutions required to comply by May 1, 2029, another third by May 1, 2031, and the final third, along with county jails, by May 1, 2035.

To support these initiatives, the bill includes a financial appropriation of $500,000 for the 2025-26 fiscal year to complete a required report, as well as $750,000 and 7.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for the DOC in each year of the 2025-27 biennium to enhance heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Furthermore, a continuing appropriation of $65,000,000 is established for the installation and operation of these systems starting in the 2026-27 fiscal year, which will sunset on May 1, 2031. The bill also repeals a previous provision related to institutional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, indicating a shift in how these systems will be managed and funded moving forward.