The New York state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government is appealing a court ruling last week that said the ethics watchdog was created unconstitutionally amid its investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his book he wrote about his administration’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move continues a previous stay on the case and means it would move to the state’s highest court — the state Court of Appeals.

The Commission on Wednesday also requested that Albany County Supreme Court Judge Thomas Marcelle decide if any parts of the law creating the panel deemed unconstitutional are severable.

“The Commission continues to administer and enforce the state’s ethics and lobbying laws, overseeing the filing and review of tens of thousands of financial disclosure statements and lobbying registrations and reports, administering ethics training for the entire executive branch workforce, providing guidance and advice, and investigating and enforcing violations of the laws and regulations under its jurisdiction,” Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government Chair Frederick A. Davie and Executive Director Sanford N. Berland said in a statement Thursday.

The commission is attempting to force the former governor to forfeit $5 million he got for writing the book. Cuomo has argued the commission lacks authority under the state constitution to prosecute him. The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court last week unanimously upheld a lower court in ruling in favor of Cuomo, with judges writing that the creation of the panel “though well intentioned in its actions, violated the bedrock principles of separation of powers.”

The commission was formed by the Legislature and current Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022 to investigate possible ethics and lobbying violations by state officials, employees, lobbyists and their clients to replace the much-criticized Joint Commission on Public Ethics, created during the Cuomo administration.

The legal battle over Cuomo’s book has stretched for three years. Cuomo has been out of office for just as long, resigning in August 2021 after an investigation concluded the then-governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Cuomo has denied those allegations.