Two California lawmakers are asking Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the California State University System, to temporarily halt spending on a controversial project to overhaul administrative computing throughout the system.

Manny Diaz, a member of the State Assembly, and State Sen. Richard Alarcon, both Democrats, wrote in a letter to Mr. Reed last week that $50-million of the $92-million earmarked for the project in the forthcoming academic year should be redirected to pay for educational programs that would be "severely cut" in Gov. Gray Davis's proposed budget. The lawmakers said the partial moratorium on spending for the computing project should last "until the Legislature fully understands the impacts of this project."

They said the proposed moratorium should affect only those computer upgrades that have not yet been started or are in the beginning stages. Upgrades for student administration, finance, and human-resources functions also should be unaffected, they said.

In their letter to Mr. Reed, the lawmakers cited a scathing audit report of the computer overhaul. In the report, released in March, the California Bureau of State Audits accused the university of understating costs and failing to establish a business plan for the project, known as the Common Management System.

"In a time of a budget crisis, when we are seeing deep cuts proposed on student services and instruction along with student fee increases," the letter says, "it is particularly disturbing to see an apparent gross mismanagement of funds that could have been used to improve California's universities."

The lawmakers' request comes as the California State Assembly prepares to vote this week on a bill, AB 491, that would increase government oversight of Cal State purchases in information technology. Mr. Diaz is the bill's sponsor.

Colleen Bentley-Adler, director of public affairs for Cal State, said that Mr. Reed would consider a partial moratorium on spending for the computer project, but that a full moratorium is unlikely. "We're looking at the impact of budget cuts on the entire system," she said.

The goal of the project is to replace outdated computer systems on Cal State's 23 campuses with one system. It would run software from PeopleSoft Inc., which sells administrative systems to colleges and businesses.

Steve Swasey, a spokesman for PeopleSoft, declined to respond to the lawmakers' criticism. However, he said his company is on time and on budget with the computer project.

The Common Management System was sharply attacked during legislative hearings in California this month and in April. In addition, the California Faculty Association has pressed legislators to end spending on the project, which is estimated to cost $440-million to $662-million over nine years.

A spokesman for Mr. Alarcon said the lawmakers chose $50-million as the size of the partial moratorium because that amount is not already dedicated to the computer overhaul.