An unlikely pair of Californians are teaming up to take the first step in passing a reparations-related bill after similar efforts were killed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) during the last legislative session. 

Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli, a hard-line conservative known for his clashes with Democrats, is authoring a bill that would create the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency, which would serve as a starting point on reparations by setting up genealogy services to determine who is a descendant of slaves.