AUSTIN, Texas — Air conditioning is critical during the summer months in Texas. Austin City Council members have approved a resolution aimed at ensuring people across the city are kept cool.
On Thursday, Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes (District 2) introduced a resolution that would require all residential properties to have cooling systems. The City does not currently require dwelling units to include an A/C unit.
"I think anyone who can step outside understands just how hot it is and how we've had a really tough summer this year. And we can only expect more severe weather events as well as more heat moving forward, especially with the worsening climate crisis that we're in," Fuentes said during the council meeting.
According to the resolution, Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) has responded to more heat-related illnesses this summer compared to 2022. Since July alone, paramedics have responded to 176 heat-related calls.
It is also worth noting that at least 279 people died in Texas due to heat-related illnesses in 2022 – most of whom were either people experiencing homelessness or people who did not have air conditioning.
Jake Salinas, a District 10 resident and the legislative director for State Rep. Sheryl Cole, threw in his support for the resolution.
Salinas mentioned that during the legislative session, Cole's office filed House Bill 2592, which would have guaranteed air conditioning to every apartment unit in Texas, as well as making sure landlords where fixing air conditioners in a timely manner. According to Salinas, the bill did not make it as far as they hoped, but he said the City's attempt to fix the problem is a step in the right direction.
"Air conditioning is arguably the most important utility we can have here in Texas, and it will become even more important as our summers continue getting hotter and hotter," Salinas said during the council meeting.
The next step for the resolution is for it to be drafted into an ordinance and be considered by the council no later than August 2024.
Dallas and Houston are two of the cities in Texas that have air conditioning ordinances in place.