In what appears to be a page out of the Schwarzenegger playbook, Senate Democrats are planning to take this year’s budget debate to city halls and community centers across California.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata says lawmakers will hold hearings this winter and spring in cities across the state, including hearings by several budget subcommittees and the newly organized committee examining proposals for government reform.

Last week, several Democratic leaders said the governor’s budget plan is unfair to the middle class. And the statewide tour may provide a new way to get that message onto local newscasts and into local newspapers.

Perata says the town hall approach will allow lawmakers to focus on issues that resonate both locally and statewide. The tentative schedule calls for discussions on education in Fresno, Salinas, and San Diego; government reform hearings would be held in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Modesto.

And Perata says the discussion will stretch beyond the Schwarzenegger budget plan. “We’re going to have our own ideas that I think will be as bold, or bolder, than what the governor proposes”, he said.