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California promised free diapers for new parents and called it “Golden State Start.” But when reporters asked for the contract behind the program, the file went missing — in plain sight. CBS California Investigates filed a California Public Records Act request for the Baby2Baby contract and the bid documents. Weeks later, the state has still not handed them over. That delay, and a bill in the Legislature that would give agencies more time to hide behind red tape, are the real story here.
What the state is refusing to show
CBS asked for the executed contract with Baby2Baby and the procurement records that would show how the vendor was picked. That list includes the procurement packet, scope of work, bid scoring sheets and vendor-award documents. The Health Care Access and Information agency — the office handling the deal — confirmed those are public records. Yet the Newsom administration waited weeks and then kept pushing back with multiple extensions. In plain English: a high-profile state deal was announced with fanfare, but the paperwork is being kept under a very polite blanket.
Why this delay matters — and why a new bill makes it worse
This isn’t just petty newsroom frustration. Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco’s AB 1821 would change how long agencies have to respond to public-records requests by converting calendar days into business days and giving agencies new leeway. That would make it easier for officials to make the public wait. Senate Judiciary Chair Tom Umberg and transparency advocates warned that routine contracts should be posted, not hidden. If the state can stall a diaper contract, imagine what else gets the “we’ll get back to you” treatment while millions are spent.
Conflicts of interest and the smell of favoritism
The other side of this is who won the contract. The Governor lauded Baby2Baby as the implementing partner for Golden State Start. Baby2Baby’s co‑CEO Norah Weinstein sits on the board of the California Partners Project, an organization tied to First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Co‑CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof is married into a well-known donor family. Those are facts that matter when a vendor with close ties to the administration wins a state contract. Asking for the contracts and scoring sheets is not witch hunting — it’s basic public oversight.
What should happen next
Reporters should keep pressing for the exact documents: the executed contract, procurement file, scoring sheets and communications. Lawmakers should pause any bills that make public records harder to get until this file is released. And the Newsom administration should publish routine contracts proactively — not treat them like surprise party invitations. Californians deserve to know how their money is spent, especially when the program is billed as an affordability win. Until the paperwork is visible, this diaper drama looks less like compassion and more like a cover-up with very poor timing.
