PLAY METER: No matter what the book value is?
LAWSON: That's right. No matter what the book
value is. So this is something within itself that we
must do. Anyway, getting back to how we got the
license fee that time, I talked with the tax collector.
He wasn't actually the tax collector at the time- he
was just working in the office. But he was going to
run for the job because the tax collector was
retiring. He had been friendly with me, and he too
felt that we were being over-taxed, that our
licenses were not just, according to the licenses that
were being sold in other industries.
So he
happened to be on a committee that looked over
licenses throughout the state, and he asked me if
our association would back him in this move, and I
said we certainly would. What we really wanted to
do was get like a $500 or $1000 license for a county,
and this would discourage one man from buying a
phonograph or whatever. But they came back and
said no they couldn't do that, that it would be an
infringment on their rights of some kind. So then
we settled with the formula that we have, and we
are very happy with it because it is quite a saving
for those of us in the business because anytime you
operate anything over 35 pieces in any county, you,
of course, are saving money. So this is how this
came about. I ought to add that we also have city
licenses to pay. Each municipality has on the books
a license ranging anywhere from $5 to $35 per
machine .
PLA Y METER: And that still exists?
LAWSON: Well, it's still on the books. Four years
ago, though, the Florida legislature passed a bill
stating that no municipality could charge a company
a license unless they had an office in that city. Well,
we don't have an office in any city. We happen to be
located in the county. So I immediately went to my
attorney in Winter Haven and asked how he
interpreted the law, and he said, "Well, the way I
read it, we can't charge you a license. You're
buying a state and county license that permits you
to operate in the city." Well, this was good enough
for me. So I went to 23 different municipalities, and
all but two refunded the money that they had
charged me. Of those two, I took one of them to
court. I won in the lower court but lost in the
appeal.
PLAY METER: Why was that?
LAWSON: I don't know. It was something about
the way they interpreted the law. My attorney said
that the way t he law was written, it didn't have
enough teeth. He didn't feel it was worthwhile for
us to take it to the Supreme Court. But since that
time, these other municipalities that I deal with, I
have not been buying city licenses there. Now,
those cities that bill us for licenses, in the
meantime- we take in a lot of other cities, a lot of
other territories- if they have a license we don't
argue with them. We just pay it because what we
want to do in time through our association is to get
this municipality license thing equalized. In Plant
City, for instance, where I operate- it's about 20
miles east of Tampa- well, last year I paid over
$700. Seven hundred dollars just to operate in that
one city! Now this is a city of about 10,000 people.
PLA Y METER, August, 1977
PLAY METER: That's outrageous.
LAWSON: You bet it is. This is what I'm t.alking
about. Well, their licenses are $25 per machine.
This is what I think is so unfair, I do not believe that
one of the chain stores paid that kind of license. So
I think we need to have a check-balance system
here, try to get this thing equalized a little bit and
let everybody share part of the burden.
PLAY METER: What is the best way of going
about that?
LAWSON: Well, again, we have always found that
the best way of going about that is through our
state association. To get these laws passed, of
course, requires a lot of legwork. It takes a lot of
friendship, a lot of money, and a lot of time. We
have found that if you get enough people involved,
you can go to the politicians with a stack of letters
or a list of names or whatever, and they'll listen to
you. These politicians want voters and we found
that's true not only on the local level but also on the
national level.
PLAY METER: There again , your force, back to
the state association. I'm sure they must monitor
legislation and sometimes prevent something from
happening.
LAWSON: That's right. We have a news service
12 months a year. Of course, our legislature meets
once a year, and they are normally in session for 90
days- though sometimes they're there forever it
seems like. We monitor everything that comes out
of there. We have our executive director, Bob
Rhinehart, who has been with us for a number of
years. He does a good job in getting us all the
information. And, of course, anytime there is
something that is detrimental to us, he immediately
shoots out a bulletin to us and advises us that we
should contact our senators and representatives or
whoever and talk with them.
PLAY METER: We have talked about licenses and
taxes. What about this copyright decision-the
eight-dollar royalty for all your jukeboxes? That's
going to be payable in January. How do you feel
about that?
LAWSON: Well, I think it's one of the most unfair
things I have ever heard. I do not think that there's
any reason for it whatsoever. And I doubt very
seriously if any of the artists will receive much of the
eight dollars. It's just another thing to dig into our
profits because there's no way we can pass it on
to anyone. We have to absorb it ourselves. Or if
there is a way, I haven't found it yet. It's going to
mean a lot of extra bookkeeping. It's going to mean
a lot of extra work for us, and that costs money. I
would like to say that I think the AMOA-and the
MOA before that- did a fantastic job of keeping
this from becoming a reality any sooner than it did.
I think they've done good to keep it down to eight
dollars. There was a time when they were asking
for something that was outrageous, and it would
have put a lot of us out of business. Of course, I'm
sure we'll overcome this. I'm sure we'll live with
whatever the rules and regulations are, though I
don't think anyone knows what they are yet.
PLAY METER: You are really big on associations,
aren't you?
57