Republican state senators are demanding Democratic state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli conduct a “forensic audit” of the MTA before the cash-strapped public transit agency gets even more taxpayer money.

“At this point, turning to the taxpayers should be a last resort, not a first option. We request, as a matter of fiscal integrity, that your office conduct a forensic audit of the MTA to determine what steps they can implement to close their annual budget shortfall,” reads a March 3 letter to New York’s top bean counter.

The call from all 21 GOP members of the Democratic-dominated, 63-seat Senate could complicate efforts by Gov. Kathy Hochul to get $1.3 billion in new funding for the MTA through the state budget due April 1.   

Her $277 billion spending plan would require New York City to pay $500 million more per year to support the MTA’s Access-a-Ride service for the disabled and discounted student fares while also boosting a controversial tax on employers — proposals also respectively opposed by Mayor Eric Adams and some suburban Democratic legislators.

“Whether it is the MTA Payroll Tax or congestion pricing, enough is enough. The MTA needs to exhibit some fiscal responsibility and get its own financial house in order before asking for the taxpayers of our state to bail them out,” the letter adds.

A spokesman for Dinapoli did not immediately provide comment Friday.

MTA finances have faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks following a shocking January report by The Post exposing $200 million in wasteful labor costs at the Long Island Rail Road alongside criticism of service disruptions caused by the opening of the $11.6 billion Grand Central Madison station in Manhattan.

Senate Republicans cited fare evasions as another area of scrutiny for DiNapoli.

“The amount lost has been steadily and rapidly increasing over the last several years. This increase has reached a point where last year, it is estimated that the MTA lost over half a billion dollars as a result of riders not paying their fares. Simply installing head-to-foot turnstiles would drastically reduce fare evasion and yet it does not seem there has been any effort made to do so,” the letter reads.

Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, suggested the push by Republican senators might not be so necessary considering the existing oversight reporting done by DiNapoli, the Legislature, and the federal government.

“There’s a lot of cooks in this kitchen,” she said.

But she added that additional “oversight and transparency” would hardly hurt when it comes to restoring public trust in the MTA.

GOP senators, though, say they are losing patience with the MTA, which has received billions in federal aid in recent years to confront budgetary shortfalls related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Year after year, we hear that the MTA is facing a fiscal crisis and needs more money. Year after year, we see the governor and certain lawmakers trying to introduce new ways (taxes & fees) to get more money out of the taxpayers to keep the MTA solvent,” they said in their letter. “At this point, turning to the taxpayers should be a last resort, not a first option.”