California Scheming: Billions Awarded by State in No-Bid ‘Auto-Renewed’ COVID Contracts

California agencies approved more than 8,000 no-bid contracts with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and many have since been “auto-renewed” with little or no oversight under the state’s public health emergency declaration, which has been in effect for nearly three years.
The no-bid contracts, awarded mostly by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and California Department of Technology, include more than 80 work orders of at least $25 million and total at least $12 billion, according to analyses by Kaiser Health News, the nonpartisan nonprofit CalMatters news services, and budget watchdogs such as the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
A 2022 bill adopted unanimously by both chambers of the California State Legislature in August, and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 25, will require that state agencies “submit information regarding the terms and conditions of a proposed extension or renewal” of any contracts of $75 million or more awarded beginning Jan. 1, 2023….