ALBANY, N.Y. — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie tasked his chamber’s judiciary committee with starting an “impeachment investigation” to probe sexual harassment allegations and other scandals surrounding New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The panel will have subpoena power and will not interfere with an independent investigation being overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James, Heastie said.

The move comes as a growing number of the governor’s fellow Democrats call for his resignation in light of disturbing claims that he groped an aide last year and other women have come forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and misconduct. A smaller number supports impeaching Cuomo.

More than 55 Democratic state legislators issued a joint statement Thursday calling on Cuomo to resign.

“The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious,” Heastie said in a statement. “The committee will have the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, as is allowed by the New York State Constitution.”

James said the Legislature’s action will “have no bearing” on the independent investigation into Cuomo’s conduct being led by former federal prosecutor Joon Kim and employment discrimination attorney Anne Clark.

Pressure to step down has mounted against the governor in recent weeks as his administration became embroiled in controversy related to nursing home COVID-19 deaths, which has led to a federal probe, and six women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.

Those calls swelled Wednesday following reports that an aide claims the governor groped her and reached under her blouse while at the Executive Mansion, Cuomo’s official residence, late last year.

The Albany Times Union reported that the woman became emotional and told a superior about the incident last week while watching Cuomo deny he ever touched anyone “inappropriately” during a televised news conference.

Cuomo has flatly denied the groping allegation, which could constitute a criminal offense.

“I have never done anything like this,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “The details of this report are gut-wrenching.”

The governor’s office, meanwhile, notified Albany police about the claim, as required by law, after the aide declined to file a formal report.

While a criminal investigation has not been started, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said in a statement that Albany Police are “ready to assist any victim who seeks to come forward.”

Over the weekend, Ana Liss, a former policy and operations aide to the governor, said Cuomo repeatedly inquired about her personal life, touched her, and on one occasion kissed her hand as she rose from her desk.

Karen Hinton, who worked with the governor when he led the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, said Cuomo once invited her to his hotel room during a work trip to California. He asked her personal questions about her marriage and hugged her repeatedly in a manner that was “too long, too tight, too intimate” when she tried to leave.

Former aide Charlotte Bennett, 25, has called Cuomo a “textbook abuser” after detailing how he asked her probing personal questions including if she was interested in older men and indicated he was comfortable with “anyone above the age of 22” during private meetings last spring, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

Bennett, Liss and Hinton all came forward after former Cuomo adviser Lindsey Boylan published an essay last month accusing the 63-year-old of kissing her on the mouth without her consent during a meeting at his Manhattan office.

Another woman, Anna Ruch, 33, alleges the governor made unwanted advances toward her and planted an unsolicited kiss on her cheek at a 2019 wedding.

Boylan said Thursday that lawmakers should skip the probe and focus on impeachment.

“We have people investigating - independent counsel appointed by the AG. We do not need a parallel political circus because @CarlHeastie is too afraid to do the right thing. Impeach,” she tweeted.

Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, has faced pressure from within his own conference to take a more aggressive stand against the governor as accusations mounted.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, called on Cuomo to step down Sunday while Heastie condemned Cuomo, but stopped just shy of calling for his resignation.

Cuomo has remained defiant, suggesting it would be “anti-democratic” for him to leave office.

“There is no way I resign,” he said Sunday.

Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, introduced a resolution Monday that would begin impeachment proceedings.

Actual impeachment wouldn’t move forward without Heastie allowing it to come to a vote. It would then take a majority vote in the 150-member Assembly to send charges to the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul would become acting governor as the Senate trial, which would include the seven Cuomo-appointed members of the Court of Appeals and all senators except Stewart-Cousins, plays out.

Only one New York governor has ever been impeached. Gov. William Sulzer was removed from office in 1913 over campaign finance violations.

———