When you’re a Republican running for statewide office in deep-blue California, you’d better have ideas that appeal to voters of all political leanings.

Herb Morgan, the GOP candidate for state controller, has come up with one. He said Wednesday that he wants to return $15 billion held by the state to its rightful owners.

According to Morgan, the controller’s office has more than $15 billion in unclaimed financial assets. That’s the value of people’s dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance proceeds, stocks, utility deposits, and related property held by the state.

“Californians did not lose $15 billion,” Morgan explained. “The state took custody of it and has treated too much of it as a standing loan to the General Fund. That ends. I will rename the program Property Reunification, align it with its original purpose, and use every lawful data match available to send people their own money.”

Morgan is a breath of fresh air in what is normally a sleepy race. He’s hoping that his pledge of “California radical transparency” for the state’s financial books will make independent voters and blue-dog Democrats consider voting for him over incumbent controller Malia Cohen, the Dem who finished atop the June primary by 534,000 votes.

He’s applied that radical transparency to his own campaign, putting every contribution on a public blockchain ledger. It’s believed to be the first time a U.S. political candidate has published campaign finances on-chain with daily verified updates.

And, unlike many politicians who speak in generalities and then duck and cover when asked for specifics, Morgan has thought out his $15 billion property return program in detail.

Let’s take a look:

The Plan

1.  Rebrand and reorient the program. “Unclaimed property” would be designated Property Reunification. The mission is the return of assets, not hanging onto them.

2.  Aggressively cross-reference Franchise Tax Board datasets with Property Reunification records. Current address, Social Security, and tax filing data already in state systems would be used to locate owners and heirs who have not found the http://claimit.ca.gov search portal.

3.  Accelerate direct payment. Where identity and ownership can be confirmed through state records, the controller’s office would issue payments rather than waiting for owners to file claims.

4.  Treat returned funds as stimulus. Says Morgan: “Every dollar sent to a household or business is purchasing power that belongs in the private economy — groceries, rent, small-business cash flow, and family savings, not an interest-free float for Sacramento.”

How Much Is California Returning to Residents Now?

The state returned $534 million in the most recent fiscal year.

“Those efforts remain insufficient against a $15 billion-plus stock of assets,” Morgan said.

By the way, it’s not as if Morgan is reinventing the wheel. Other states are embracing similar plans. You’d think that tech-savvy California would’ve led the charge, but it hasn’t.

“This is not charity and it is not a new program paid for by taxpayers,” Morgan said. “It is people receiving what is already theirs.”

For now, Californians can search existing records at http://claimit.ca.gov.