For the first time in his nearly two decades in the legislature, House Speaker Glen Casada’s campaign funds will undergo scrutiny from state officials.

The Registry of Election Finance — the state agency charged with enforcing campaign finance laws — is expected to launch an examination of the embattled lawmaker’s financial records at its upcoming August meeting, according to a person familiar with the upcoming probe.

Casada, who maintains a political action committee in addition to his personal campaign committee, has in excess of $560,000 at his disposal.

In recent years, he has used his PAC to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures on items ranging from food and beverages to his membership at a Nashville restaurant with a private club and its own PAC.

Janet Williams, the interim executive director of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said a decision to investigate Casada has not officially been made yet.

A spokesman for the speaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The expected inquiry into Casada’s finances is the latest blow for the Williamson County Republican, who just six months ago was sworn in as House speaker.

He is expected to resign from that leadership post Aug. 2 after he faced scrutiny for sending sexually explicit and misogynistic text messages.

House Republicans will gather in Nashville on Wednesday to nominate his successor. The legislature is scheduled to meet Aug. 22 after Gov. Bill Lee called a special session in part to formally allow the next speaker to take office.

The probe of Casada’s campaign finances is a rare move for state officials. Typically, the registry declines to move beyond its annual audits of candidates.

Officials audit about 4 percent of all campaign accounts during a two-year period. That means in the next two years, six lawmakers, selected in a random drawing, will be audited.

But Casada is under heightened scrutiny, not only over his campaign spending, but his use of taxpayer dollars on everything from a state plan to office renovations.

The last lawmaker to have his or her campaign finances probed by the registry outside of a random drawing for an audit was expelled former Rep. Jeremy Durham.

The audit into Durham's campaign finances in 2017 found he spent campaign money illegally to buy custom suits, spa products and sunglasses.

The registry levied a record-setting $465,000 penalty against Durham, which he is still appealing.

Durham was expelled from the legislature in 2016 after a Tennessean investigation found he had sent inappropriate late-night text messages. A subsequent probe by the Tennessee attorney general found he had inappropriate sexual contact with at least 22 women.

Casada, who served as Durham's mentor, has served in the legislature since 2002 and has never faced an audit.

In a recent court filing, Casada told a Williamson County judge that he could no longer afford his $4,000 a month alimony. State law does not prohibit the beleaguered lawmaker from using his PAC to pay for his alimony.

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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.