world
California releases $6.2 million diaper contract records after public records request
State records released July 17 show a non-competitive $6.2 million diaper contract signed in April. The documents followed a May 12 public records request and a governor announcement on May 8.
Jul 20, 3:56 PM·1m read2 sources
Delayed releaseMatched proposal
cnbc.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
California posted contract records at 5:34 p.m. on July 17 showing a $6.2 million agreement with Baby2Baby that had been coded as non-competitively bid. The posting came after a May 12 public records request from CBS News. The governor announced the contract on May 8.
details and bidding process HCAI informed Baby2Baby on January 7 that it had been selected. The governor stated on camera that the deal went through a competitive bidding process. The document governing the RFI process states it is not a solicitation and that pricing will not be considered a proposal or bid.
The state never issued an official RFP for competitive bids. HCAI documents give conflicting counts of RFI responses as 11, 14, and 15.
The 2025 budget funded the Diaper Access Initiative at $7.4 million General Fund. Lawmakers removed the governor's program from the budget on June 13, 2025, then added $7.4 million in the Budget Bill Jr. on June 27 with a no-bid exemption. The 2026-27 budget allocated $12.5 million for the initiative and $16.5 million one-time for diaper banks.
The governor's January 2025 budget proposal set the plan for 40 million diapers at roughly $6.2 million. The executed contract matches that plan.
The state took 24 days to determine whether the records were disclosable and extended its response deadline three times. The final notice came at 5:09 p.m. on July 3, a state holiday. The governor's office emailed CBS News at 6:04 p.m. on July 17 requesting corrections to its reporting.
