Sonny Merideth

He graduated from Riverside Consolidated High School in Washington County in 1948 and received an undergraduate degree in accounting from Mississippi State University four years later.

Merideth responded by encouraging his colleagues to pass a resolution thanking the governor for his concern, assuring him that the matter would be addressed in regular session, and then adjourning.

Legislative leadership then held a meeting and decided not to move to adjourn early, and Meredith began preparing for his committee to work on the proposals.

The legislature responded by passing a three-year pay increase plan with a provision added by Merideth which made striking as a public employee a criminal offense.

[15] AHEAD supporters ignored Allain's proposal, and were able to pass their program on January 29, but without the requisite three-fifths majority constitutionally required to approve tax increases.

Gambling was illegal in Mississippi's jurisdiction, but the proposal entailed allowing a ship to pick up passengers in port and then sail into federal waters, which were typically defined as three miles off of the coast.

In January 1988 Representative Glenn Endris and other Gulf Coast legislators filed a bill in the House to legalize gambling in the sound.

Merideth chaired the subcommittee which handled gambling bills and asked Endris, "You want a dog and pony show or you want me to just go ahead and kill 'em?

"[19] The bill passed the House before dying in the Senate finance committee due to moral objections from religious leaders.

[20] In January 1990 Tommy Gollott and several other senators introduced a bill to legalize riverboat casino operations along the Mississippi River to improve the economic situation of areas along the watercourse.