The Senate is back in session today – for the first time since Jan. 15, and one of just nine days this month – which affords an opportunity for exploring resources available through the recently redesigned General Assembly website.

From the landing page at ilga.gov, find the Senate window and click the “schedules” button. Next, choose “Legislation In Hearings,” then make sure “Week” is selected in the lower menu. This delivers a list of seven Senate Bills, their chief sponsors, a short description and the committee to which each bill is assigned, along with a date and time for those hearings.

For example. Today at 4 p.m., the Senate Insurance Committee will take up SB 1358 from chief sponsor state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Waukegan. She filed the bill early in the current session; it sat in the assignments committee from Jan. 28 until being assigned to Insurance a week ago today.

The bill would amend the Illinois Insurance Code by requiring certain health care plans to fully cover an annual PET scan for clients age 35 or older, regardless of symptoms or a doctor’s order. (Thanks to the University of Illinois Hospitals & Clinics for explaining how diagnostic technicians use “positron emission tomography to determine the presence and extent of most cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disease.”)

Other topics this week include new rules on distributing surplus money from tax increment financing allocation funds, grants for fire station construction projects, what types of motor vehicles must be included in estate valuations, firefighter death reporting requirements, the Open Meetings Act and one that would save me a lot of time waiting in the checkout line: a mandate that grocery stores offering digital coupons must make equivalent paper coupons available at the service desk.

Without diminishing the attention lawmakers (and politicians) pay to the issues that dominate opinion polls, it’s important to remember the General Assembly always has a full plate.

ATTENTIVE READER: Saturday’s column discussed public school advocates asking Gov. JB Pritzker to opt out of a new federal program offering tax incentives for donations to certain nonprofit educational organizations. If he agrees, I noted, the decision would align him with governors in a few other states. RS wrote with an obvious question: which states? The answer, per the Chicago Sun-Times: Hawaii, Wisconsin, Oregon and New Mexico.

OLYMPICS APPROACHING: The Winter Olympics will soon begin with opening ceremonies set for Friday in Milan, Italy. As space allows, I’ll spotlight some of the Illinois natives who will compete for the U.S. Today it’s Kevin Bickner, a 29-year-old ski jumper from Wauconda, who returns for his third Olympics. His best finish was ninth place in 2018 as part of the large hill team event.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.