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RALEIGH — The State Board of Elections has asked Sen. Phil Berger to explain at least three dozen problems found with his campaign finance reports since 2004, ranging from a lack of information to apparently illegal contributions.

The Eden Republican will most likely end up refiling some of his reports; it’s unlikely he would face more than a fine in any of the cases detailed by the state board.

An official for the State Board of Elections said Berger’s reports were reviewed as part of an ongoing but newly increased effort to review all campaign finance filings and ensure an accurate public record.

“I’m confident that once we look at these on an individual basis, we’ll be able to clear these up,” Berger said Monday afternoon.

At the time, Berger had not seen the Nov. 20 letter from the state board, although an aide  had read it to him.

Berger is the Republican leader in the Senate. As such, he is the conduit for a lot of campaign cash that flows on to his members.

Errors the state board found on his report are similar to problems found in reports filed by other legislative leaders and statewide officials, such as  Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat who is about to end his tenure as his party’s leader in the Senate.

In fact, because Rand is in the majority and the audit reaches further back to 2001, the state board found many more potential problems for the Democrat totaling more money than in Berger’s case.

Similar examples can be found on the reports of other Guilford and Rockingham County lawmakers. However, it appears Berger may be the first of those lawmakers audited by the state board.

The board is reviewing the campaign finance reports filed by all statewide and legislative officials, according to Executive Director Gary Bartlett.

“Part of our job is to be helpful and correct mistakes,” Bartlett said.

In the past two years, the legislature has provided more funding to the State Board of Elections, which in turn has allowed the board to hire more staff to sift through reports filed by politicians. The idea, Bartlett said, is to make sure records are accurate, not to punish politicians for accounting errors.

Bartlett and good government advocates say it’s important to have an accurate record of donations so that voters can make up their minds about a lawmaker’s performance.

Campaign finance questions have been at the heart of corruption cases brought in recent years. Former House Speaker Jim Black, a Mecklenburg Democrat, is serving time in prison after investigations into his campaign finances grew into a criminal probe.

But there is a big difference between those types of violations and the problems cited on Berger’s report.

“I just don’t think I see anything nefarious going on,” said Bob Phillips, who heads the North Carolina branch of the watchdog group Common Cause.

Problems found with the reports for both Berger and Rand show how hard it can be for volunteer campaign treasurers and part-time politicians to keep up with donations, Phillips said.

“Sen. Berger has been a champion for some of the reforms this letter indicates he might be violating,” Phillips said. “He has pushed for even tougher limits for fundraising from lobbyists.”

In his role as Senate minority leader, Berger has been one of the most vocal critics of corruption cases involving Democrats. He said Monday that his bookkeeping errors didn’t approach the kind of problems he’s taken aim at.

“Most of the things I’ve been concerned about are things that involve failure to disclose, some kind of appearance of granting favoritism, some type of circumstances that go to the heart of the public’s right to know,” Berger said. “I’ve tried to be consistent with that sort of thing. I’ve tried not to take cheap shots.”

The most glaring problems found by the state board involve 16 cases in which the Berger committee reported receiving campaign donations from political action committees with registered lobbyists after the legislative session had started for the year. Lawmakers are barred from receiving contributions while the legislature is in session.

However, Berger said it is likely that his committee reported receiving the checks on the day they were deposited rather than the day they were handed over. There can be a difference of up to a week between the two actions.

In fact, each of the checks were logged in only a few days after the start of session. More than likely, Berger said, the checks in question were given during a fundraiser regularly held the night before the General Assembly goes back into session.

In other cases, Berger was cited for failing to report a contribution that another political action committee said it gave to the lawmaker. Those types of discrepancies can happen  when committees use different names or make a mistake in determining which leadership committee they are helping.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com