Meier served for one term (1931–1935), declining to run for a second term for reasons of health. He hired George W. Joseph Jr. as a legal adviser during the first legislative session of his administration, paying the younger Joseph's salary personally. Among his accomplishments were establishing the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (after Prohibition ended), founding the Oregon State Police, helping create a State Board of Agriculture and State Unemployment Commission, pressing for the adoption of a non-partisan judicial system, and using his business acumen to help the state navigate the financial tribulations of the Great Depression. Efforts to establish a sales tax and public power were not immediately successful, though Federal legislation was passed in 1933 authorizing the public development of the Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams.