SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley will be in the hot seat Thursday when a legislative committee begins looking into what happened to hundreds of thousands of dollars of state money.

Earlier this month, questions began to arise about Shelley's ties to Julie Lee -- a real estate agent who wanted to build a San Francisco neighborhood center. Three years ago -- as an Assembly member -- Shelley helped Lee get a grant for the center from the California State Parks Department. However, the center was never built. And some critics say Lee helped funnel the grant money into Shelley's campaign for Secretary of State.

"I think when you hear more and more questions asked and no answers coming through, I think where there's smoke, there's fire. And there needs to be more investigation," said Assembly Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

California State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns said the grant totaled $500,000. He also said it is money the department wants back.

"I think we're asking for $518,000 back because that's the money we gave them, plus interest for the time they had the money," Stearns said.

And more recently, lawmakers like Assemblyman Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, have been asking questions about whether Shelley might have lined his political pockets with money from the federal government, which was intended to improve California's elections process.

"This isn't an inquisition. This is an investigation relative to how the dollars have been spent," Cox said.

"The audit is a very powerful instrument. I think that we're towards the end of session. We've taken on this issue very seriously and very quickly," Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Oakland, said.

Shelley also faces allegations by current and former employees that he is an abusive boss with a short temper.

In a statement, Shelley acknowledges sometimes being "demanding," "hard-driving" and a "tough boss." But he says he "never engaged in behavior intended to humiliate or embarrass anyone."