News that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to make more than $5 million from his book is prompting state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, to once again push the Senate to limit such books from elected officials in the future.

In March, Borrello introduced S.5601 to amend the state Public Officers Law to prohibit elected officials from publishing books about their time in office while they still hold office.

Cuomo disclosed Monday that he was paid a $3.1 million advance to write his COVID-19 leadership book last year and under his publishing contract will make another $2 million on “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic” memoir over the next two years.

“It is disgraceful that Governor Cuomo will personally pocket more than $5 million from his book deal with Crown Publishing Group,” Borrello said. “That’s five million reasons to hide the truth and mislead the public about the deadly impact of his administration’s decision to return COVID-positive patients to their nursing homes at the beginning of the pandemic. This news adds great urgency to the ongoing investigations surrounding this deal. The role that a financial motive played in the nursing home cover up needs to be fully investigated, as do the reports that its development involved the improper use of state staff and resources.”

Cuomo has been criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes last year, including the administration’s decision to withhold data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes for several months. Critics say the data withholding came while the book contract was being finalized and the book finished. Cuomo and his staff members have said the data wasn’t final yet and couldn’t be released while the state was bring probed by the federal government — though the withholding of data began months before the federal probe began.

“Despite promising to donate the proceeds to COVID relief, just one-third went to charity. The notion of profiting from a tragedy that took the lives of thousands of New Yorkers is unseemly and an affront to those who lost loved ones to this deadly virus,” Borrello said. “As I said back in March when I introduced legislation, S.5601, to prevent elected officials from publishing books about their leadership in office while still holding that office, this isn’t a free speech issue, it’s an anti-corruption issue. Even if no laws were broken, the glaring conflicts of interest involved here demand action. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take up my legislation before the end of session so we can give New Yorkers the accountability they deserve in their elected leaders.”

According to the Associated Press, the state’s ethics commission approved Cuomo’s request to write the book last summer, but only if he followed several conditions, including making sure it was written on his own time and not using state property, personnel or other resources for “activities associated with the book.”

The governor was also barred from advertising, promoting or endorsing his book when performing his state duties.

In April, the state’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, authorized New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the role that some of Cuomo’s aides played in “drafting, editing sale and promotion” of the book. Cuomo spokesperson Richard Azzopardi has repeatedly said that state employees who helped with the book did so on their own time in a “volunteer” capacity. Azzopardi said Monday that after taxes and expenses, Cuomo had netted $1.5 million on the book last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.