Newsom administration delays release of Baby2Baby diaper contract records

The Newsom administration waited 24 days to decide whether Californians could see the Baby2Baby diaper contract, keeping the records out of public view nearly two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the deal on May 8, 2026. The request for the contract was filed on May 12, four days after Newsom launched Golden State Start, a diaper program his office said would provide 400 free diapers to every newborn in participating California hospitals.

The withheld records could answer basic questions about how the state chose Baby2Baby, a nonprofit tied to First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and what the arrangement will cost taxpayers. State officials said the diaper cost is 15.5 cents each, while critics on social media had pushed a 50-cents-per-diaper claim. The 2025-26 State Budget financed the initiative through a Request for Information contract process, and Baby2Baby was selected to provide and distribute diapers to California newborns.

What remains missing is the paper trail that would show the exact value of the contract, whether California used a competitive process, and how the administration handled conflict-of-interest concerns around a politically connected nonprofit. In June 2026, the diaper program was still moving ahead in a tentative state budget deal even as skeptical Democratic and Republican lawmakers objected, with some saying the Baby2Baby arrangement reeked of favoritism.

The delay is landing in the middle of a broader Sacramento fight over how long agencies can stall public records. AB 1821, carried by Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, would extend the initial response time for some California Public Records Act requests from 10 calendar days to 10 business days. It would also let agencies charge $22 to $66 an hour for requests they deem for commercial use and allow them to petition superior court over requests they argue were made with malicious intent.

Under the current California Public Records Act, agencies must determine within 10 days whether records exist and whether they can be disclosed, then make them promptly available.