SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement was audacious: On a national news show, he said the state had just inked a deal to buy 200 million masks monthly, a massive haul amid the international scramble for protective gear needed in the fight against the coronavirus. “As a nation-state, with the capacity to write a check for hundreds of millions, no billions, of dollars, we’re in a position to do something bold and big,” Newsom told reporters the next day.
The announcement surprised many state lawmakers, and California took the unusual step of paying half the cost up front. One week later, details of the $1 billion deal with Chinese company BYD are limited — the contract has not been made public, though Newsom's