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Outrage over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $5.1 million pandemic book deal led Republican lawmakers to announce legislation Wednesday that would ban elected state officials from profiting off their writings while in office.

State Sen. George Borrello (R-Jamestown) called the matter “an anti-corruption issue” and invoked the scandal over the Cuomo administration’s cover-up of nursing home deaths from COVID-19.

“The governor had 5 million reasons to withhold information on the nursing home data,” he said during a news conference in the Capitol building in Albany.

Borrello said that “back in October, on ‘CBS This Morning,’ [Cuomo] actually touted the fact that New York state had among the best numbers when it comes to death in nursing homes.”

“And the reality is, we were among the worst,” Borrello said.

“So, if the correct information had been out at that time, would that have had an impact on his book deal? That’s the question.”

A federal probe into Cuomo’s handling of nursing homes amid the pandemic has apparently expanded to include his book deal, based on questions that state Senate Health Committee Chairman Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) has told The Post he was asked by investigators earlier this month.

Attorney General Letitia James and the state Assembly Judiciary Committee are also investigating allegations that Cuomo used state workers to help prepare and promote his memoir, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Borrello called it “absurd” that state ethics rules prohibit officials from accepting anything of value over $15, while “a lobbyist could buy a pallet full of those books … and then [Cuomo] gets the value of that.”

He further called the governor a “hypocrite” for striking his lucrative book deal after supporting a 2018 plan to bar legislators from earning outside income in exchange for boosting their annual pay to $130,000.

Their salaries have risen from $79,500 to $110,000 a year but the rest of the raise and the ban on outside income haven’t taken effect due to an ongoing court battle.

State Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R-Brewster) said he’d spoken with unspecified Democrats who support the GOP’s plan to prohibit officials from striking book deals while in office.

“I’m not going to betray a confidence by giving someone’s name until their name is actually on the bill,” he said.

“There’s definitely interest and all you have to do is read through my colleagues’ social media accounts.”

Byrne also noted that “a lot of members of the [Democratic] majority … have made a very big deal about the governor’s book deal.”

“So, words are good but action is better. Sign on to our bill and let’s make it happen,” he added.

Cuomo’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

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