>> Subpoenas were issued because lawmakers refused to cooperate and the committee scheduled depositions at the end of the month and Biggs said today's actions by the January 6th January 6th committee are pure little theater that the ongoing baseless witchhunt is nothing more than an effort to distract the American people from the Democrats and Biden's disastrous leadership.

>>> In a statement, in part, those who, quote, entered Arizona seeking asylum voluntary legislature were transported to Washington, D.C. and as reports that one bus carrying to asylum seekers left Y Yuma with more to follow.

>>> One million American lives lost with more to follow.

>> Today we mark a tragic milestone in the United States and one million Covid deaths and one million empty chairs around the family dinner table and each irreplaceable, irreplaceable losses and each leaving behind a family and community forever changed because of this pandemic.

>> And president speaking at a White House Covid Summit asking Congress for additional funding for Covid tests, treatments and vaccines.

One more health note, a new study shows one in four older Americans on Medicare were harmed during hospital stays a one-year period in 2018 according to the department of health and human services which reports that the Medicare patients suffered temporary or permanent harm in the hospital leading to death and investigators with HHS say safety measures improved over the years.

>>> Voting on choices to representing parties in state and federal races and what about independents?

How can those without a party participate in the primary and joining us now is Maricopa county reporter S Stephen richer.

How are you?

>> Doing good.

We're getting response in people who want to be involved in this election and people who want to learn about this election and that's the good news about the fall-out and all of the interest in election.

>> I believe in the parliance, you had jobs if your time.

>> If you want to send us your senior, we would love to take you.

>> Let's get basics here.

We have the primary election day and who is qualified to vote in the primary?

>> We have republicans who can vote in the republic primary and Democrats in the Democrats primary and Libertarians and the Libertarian primary and they have to choose either republican or democratic primary.

>> You can't say I want to vote for a Democrat or a republican.

If you're a registered republican, you can't vote in the democratic primary and vice verversa.

>> That doesn't mean you're registered, does it?

>> If you're an independent, you can say I want to vote in the republican pry near primary.

That just means you get a republican primary ballot for the August 2nd election.

>> I go to my polling place and what kind of information do I get.

>> Three ways to do this.

If you vote by mail, go to request.Maricopa.vote or return that postcard that arrived recently, that was the 90-day notice card and check either republican or democratic and then you'll get that ballot automatically in the mail and if you want to vote in-person, you just show up to the voting location and present your I.D., check in and choose the party you wish to vote.

>> Up until the moment you get there, decide which side to vote on?

>> As an independent, that's right.

>> Isn't that interesting.

How many independents request ballots?

>> Independents are the largest party in Maricopa.

There's more independents than republicans more independents thanDemocrats, but independents participation has been quite low such that republicans and Democrats nom dominate.

>> Because of confusion or by nature are independents not that involved or interested in party politics?

>> I don't know if it's I'm independent for a reason and I don't want anything don't want anything to to do with the squabbles or what they can and can't participate in but independents can participate in the August 2nd primary.

>> You're the Maricopa county recorder.

Is it a good idea or should everyone get a primary ballot and vote willy-nilly?

>> I think it's important to express their voice because so many of our races and maybe not the state-wides at the legislative district level, those are determined at the primary level and so the broadening of voices would maybe get a politician who is more reflective of the Arizona population.

>> Then you have republicans saying this is our party and we should be allowed to elect who we want and we don't want people independent or republicans coming in and muck things up.

Do we have a point?

>> This is a debate borne back and forth and Arizona is not an open primary where anyone can vote for anyone, no matter their political party.

But it does allow independents to participate should they choose that political party.

>> Are there states wide open and anyone can vote for anything during a primary.

>> City of phoenix, it's a non-partisan primary and everyone on the same ballot and the top two advance.

Louisiana has a system like this even for the U.S. health delegation and everyone is on the same ballot, top two advance and doesn't matter if you're R or D, you're on that ballot and getting that ballot as a voter.

>> The Jung.

jungle primaries, where you vote in order and all of that, but does anyone have a primary where it is open, republican, Democrat, winner take all for each party.

Does anyone do that or is it relatively closed like ours is?

>> Alaska switched and some states are looking at it.

We're a federalized system and that has pros and cons and states have experimented and I know Arizona has looked in the past at different voting styles and what it is, independents can participate and you can't participate in another party's primary if you're a registered R or D. >> Got that and let's get back to the election now and there's so much attention and talked that ad nauseum.

You're set and what changes and anything noticeable, any big changes for this primary vote?

>> Similar as far as the voter is concerned.

But we're taking a lot of steps to make sure you have a positive voting experience and that you have access to your polls and we'll have double, more than double the number of voting locations that we had in 2020 because if you remember, during 2020, it was when Covid was happening and weren't willing to open up doors 2025 voting location for the August primary and in 2020, we had about 90 for the August of 2020 primary.

We'll be expanding that and there's new ways to track your ballot, beballotready.vote and hopefully the people that serve you if you go to a voting location do a fantastic job and we're feeling gold.

>> good.

>> Where do you get general information?

>> Beballotready.vote is a great plate to get a lot of information and you can see which elections you're eligible for and you can see your voter registration and change your voter registration and request a ballot.

>> The most important thing for voters to know at this primary election and dovetail that for those concerned and everything that is making the headlines, what do you say in.

>> Talksay?

>> Talk us to and talk to those running elections and visit us and we'll give you a tour of our election's facility if you have doubts and better yet, get involved.

There's no better way to learn about the election system than to participate in it so you can go getinvolved.Maricopa.vote.

If you want to be paid.

>> I thought it was upthewazoo.com.

>> Always a pleasure, sir, good to see you.

>> Thank you.

>> Up next on Arizona horizon, the state of Arizona's pension system for public safety personnel.

>> Efforts to enjoy the pension system focus on investments, allocations and the burden facing other government districts and we welcome the Arizona safety personnel and good to have you here.

>> Thank you for the invitation.

>> What is PSRPS.

>> A defined benefit system and we have about 60,000 members, active members, retired members, survivingsurviving beneficiaries, police officers, correction officers, elected officials and judgments and latest count we were managing about $17 billion of assets in our investment portfolio to provide those benefits into the future and all told, this covers about 300 different plans.

And that includes municipalities and fire districts across the state.

>> Very complicated system and how is all of this funded?

>> So all of this is funded primary legislature two through to mechanisms.

A paycheck withheld and contributions into the system and with the investment portfolio, those are managed by our investment team and investment returns add to the monies to meet the benefits.

>> So cost-shroffing cost-sharing in a variety of ways.

>> And different for each plan.

>> Define benefit plan and define contribution plan and involved, as well?

>> Defined contribution plans, as well.

>> With a board of trustees overseeing everything?

>> Nine member board of trustees and appointed by various officials and most appointed bit governor and two by the house speaker and two by the senate president.

>> Cities, municipalities and there have been questions and concerns regarding how solid it and and what's changed and has it improved the situation?

>> Unfunded liabilities and both what we have as unfunded liabilities and through a variety of reasons and some of the changes that have taken place.

So I think the biggest one was when you're dealing with pensions and something this complex and this big in the dollar amounts that we're talking about, when you realize that you're in a hole, the first thing is stop digging, right?

>> Right?

>> The legislature did that and put the pension reforms in place in 2016 and worked with labor and employers so that was setting the baseline so we didn't keep digging the hole.

What you've been working on since I started a couple of years ago, working with the employers and it's been a long process and the board has made changes to what we call actuarial assumes defining the contributions into the system.

They've changed the asset allocation regarding assessments and we've worked with employers to educate local boards, local councils about pension maps and how this works.

What are the options to deal with the growing contributions that are required to look at solutions on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis and what works for their community.

>> How much of a fight has it been?

>> It hasn't been a fight.

They've been wanting information for years and myself and one of my colleagues in my office have done over one hundred individual meetings with jurisdictions over the past two years and going out and taking the time to explain this to elected officials.

>> So right now, in terms of assets, in terms of promised benefits, where are we sitting?

>> So we're sitting good.

When I started, we had ten and a half billion dollars in assets and last month, we were over 17 billion and we've made huge progress in paying down that unfunded liability.

The trick, it's not like a state budget or local budget we're not looking at one or two years.

We're looking at decades, four or five.

When you consider a 30-year employee and that's the time frame.

So we're making the progress and moving in the right direction and putting the right structures in place with the right staff and tools to manage this so we're on a certain paid down liability.

>> So the two lines, assets and debt, are they narrowing a little bit as they climb?

Is that what we're talking about talking about?

>> Moving in the right direction and will get closer and closer, which is important because that's going to ensure that the first responders will get the benefits they were promised and guaranteededguaranteed and mean savings for taxpayers over the next few years.

>> What else needs to be done?

>> We need to continue what we're doing and making improvements internally and need to get our new computer systems in place and new arc actuaries and auditors and making the changes on we have it moving in the right direction.

But we need to make sure we environment structures and tools in place to stay there long-term.

>> How does it stay there long-term, though, when it seems like goal posts are changing all of time?

Whether it's the economy or government in charge, it seems like changing the goal goal post and it has to be difficult.

>> It is and it is difficult and we have to stay on the path we're on and I think that's important.

The pension reforms that were put in place by the legislature, they're working and going in the right direction and the changes that the board of trustees have made in funding policy on actuarial assumptions to make sure the contributions stay consistent, we have those in place.

It's just maintaining those, keeping those in place and in making additional changes and tweaks along the way.

>> PSRPS administrator and sounds encouraging and thank you for joining us.

>> Thank you.

[ ♪♪♪ ] >> Arizona theater companies world premiere of justice, a musical hue lighting the careers of Supreme Court justice Sandra day O'Connor in and Ginsburg and this is artistic director and good to see you again.

>> It's been awhile.

>> Yes.

>> Before the pandemic.

>> Speaking of the pandemic, you guys are fully back in style here, back in pace?

>> In full effect, back to full neithertheater and fully staffed and narrowed it down to survive during Covid, a team of 26 and fully staffed and making big moves and what's on the horizon.

>> Are people starting to get back to the theater?

>> Consumer confidence and huge and one thing I'm appreciative of, we had a lot of digital offerings that people were still engaging with our theater and so once we transition and had strict Covid protocols, it worked out and we were fully vaccinated and required masks at the door and we wapped wanted to make sure everyone was safe and we of course, are being gooded by guide by the CDC.

>> If someone wantses wants to see justice, what do they need to know?

>> Know we have taken all precautions to know they are safe.

>> Let's talk about justice, like a three person, three characters, two who are Supreme Court justices and it's a musical.

>> Shawn Daniels, the artistic director is good friends with the playwright and reached out and said want what do, what do you have cooking?

I'm working about a play about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and she was challenged with how do you make singing justices?

And Ruth Bader Ginsburg is so reveered as well as Sandra day O'ConnorO'Connor and to see this is wonderful.

>> How well rounded do you make icons?

Do you look at them cross-eyed and who are these characters?

>> It's wonderful you said that and one thing the composeers, they want too to make sure we interrogate our heroes, as well.

And my character, and we started writing this two years ago and far before the most recent nomination to the Supreme Court, which is Kand so my character wasn't based on her, we didn't know she existed, it represented a first, a black queer woman on the Supreme Court and I conjured up Sandra day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to help me.

>> That now is a part of this season, correct?

>> Yes.

>> So you're preparing for next season.

>> We have one more show on how to make an American son and not in a slot we're used to programming and one more for you and join us for the end of our 54th season.

>> The hor hon hon duran family?

>> Yes.

>> About a man who worked from the ground up, owning his own business and teaching his son about the important of importance of dollar and hard work.

>> What about a see equal of pride and prejudice.

>> We're doing the lion, a beautiful story about Benjamin Sawyer and a coproduction with us and a theater in London.

This will be the first show in the slot and the second show, we did Christmas at Pembl earthquakes,ey, andthere is this is called the wicke and downstairs what's going on and this is really, really exciting.

And our third show that we have after that is the glass the glass menagerie and I'm directing that and so sited and can't wait to spin a new take on that old American classic.

>> That gets me to my next question, how do you balance new different, reimagined and experimental with folks who want to see Tennessee Williams?

>> It's a challenge and you want to make sure you are paying tribute to the work and pay tribute and respect to the work and how do we update this for today?

I think especially after everything we've experienced in of the last couple of years, stories about family and change are incredibly important and seeing how we can tell that story from this current day's perspective would be interesting and I'm still deciding.

But after that, we have propane, which is a beautiful story.

Steven drugman is a pulitzer nominated and Georgia McBride after that.

>> So we're running out of time.

We'll have to get you back and good to see you.

And that's it for now.

I'm Ted Simons and you have a great evening.