SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- State lawmakers on Thursday approved two audits related to investigations into suspect contributions to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's campaign.

A legislative committee voted to authorize the Bureau of State Audits to look into how Shelley spent more than $46 million in federal funds from a program designed to boost voter turnout.

Assemblyman Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, said he's concerned that Shelly's use of money from the Help America Vote Act exceeds the limits of the federal program.

Members of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee also voted Thursday to approve an audit of how the state Department of Parks handles oversight of grants, such as a $500,000 grant that it handed to the San Francisco Neighbors Resource Center.

Shelley, who was not present at Thursday morning's hearing, said he was "shocked and mystified" by reports that $205,000 contributed to his 2002 campaign may have violated state or federal laws.

Even though he wasn't familiar with the donors, Shelley said he didn't have any reason to be suspicious of the contributions because they were raised by his friend, Julie Lee, a San Francisco real estate broker and a leader in the city's Chinese American community.

"I didn't ask, because I trusted Julie Lee," Shelley said Wednesday during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "It is not uncommon for donors in the Asian American community to be successful with friends and associates to raise significant dollars."

Shelley said he had no reason to suspect anything improper about the checks because the Franchise Tax Board audited the campaign earlier this year and gave it a clean bill of health.

Earlier this month, the Chronicle reported that five donors each gave $25,000 contributions to Shelley's campaign around the time that they received payments of similar amounts from the San Francisco Neighbors Resource Center, a nonprofit group run by Lee. Another $80,000 in contributions have been linked to real estate deals conducted by Lee.

The nonprofit had received a $500,000 state grant, arranged by then-Assemblyman Shelley, that was earmarked to develop a community center that was never built.

Shelley has since returned the $125,000 to the state and put another $80,000 in donations in escrow. State and federal officials are investigating the suspect contributions.

During the interview, Shelley also denied that he hired Julie Lee's son, Andrew Lee, as a communication outreach worker as a reward for his mother's fund-raising.

Cristina Arguedas, Lee's attorney, declined on Wednesday to respond to Shelley's comments.