| Terri Hill | |
| Office: | Member of the Maryland House of Delegates |
| Term Start: | January 14, 2015 |
| Alongside: | Jessica M. Feldmark |
| Birth Date: | 3 May 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Alma Mater: | Harvard University (AB) Columbia University (MD) |
Terri Lynn Hill (born May 3, 1959) is an American politician who serves as a member to the Maryland House of Delegates since 2015, first representing the 12th district from 2015 to 2023 and then district 12A since 2023.
A member of the Democratic Party, Hill previously ran for Congress in Maryland's 7th congressional district in the 2020 special election, in which she was defeated by Kweisi Mfume, and in Maryland's 3rd congressional district in 2024, losing to state senator Sarah Elfreth.
Hill was born in Philadelphia[1] on May 3, 1959, where she was raised until her family moved to Columbia, Maryland when she was ten years old.[2] Her mother, Ethel Hill, was a member of the Wilde Lake Village Board, and her sister, Donna Hill Staton, is a former Maryland deputy attorney general and former judge. Hill graduated from Wilde Lake Senior High School and attended Harvard University, where she earned an Bachelor's degree in bioelectric engineering in 1981, and Columbia University, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1985.[3]
After graduating from Columbia, Hill worked as a plastic surgeon for the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center until 1990, afterwards completing a fellowship in craniofacial surgery at the University of Miami in 1991. She worked as a surgeon for Operation Smile from 1995 to 1999 and in 2004. Following the September 11 attacks, Hill joined the Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps, but was never called on to serve.[4]
Hill has operated her own solo medical practice since 1991, and started her own business, Visage Rejuvenation Spa LLC, in 2006. In March 2021, The Baltimore Sun reported that she had twice participated in a legislative hearing via Zoom while operating on a patient whom she said had given her permission to videoconference into the meetings.[5] An investigation by the Maryland Board of Physicians found that one patient was unaware that she connected to a legislative hearing during surgery, and another was told that she would connect to the meeting 10 minutes before surgery, but no consent paperwork was filed. In October, she was fined $15,000 and reprimanded for again connecting from the operating room.[6] The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics also declined to charge her with ethics violations for participating in legislative hearings from the operating room.[7] [8]
In addition to her surgery practice, Hill also helps legislators and lobbyists at the Maryland State House with their health issues.[9]
Hill first got involved in politics as an intern for U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.
Hill was elected alongside newcomers Eric Ebersole and Clarence Lam, with whom she ran on a slate alongside state senator Edward Kasemeyer,[10] in the 2014 Maryland House of Delegates election to succeed state delegates Steve DeBoy, James Malone, and Elizabeth Bobo.[11] [12] She was sworn in on January 14, 2015, and has been a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee during her entire tenure.
See main article: 2020 Maryland's 7th congressional district special election. In November 2019, Hill announced that she would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the special election to succeed the late U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings. Her platform included reforms to health care, social justice, and immigration.[13] The Baltimore Sun described her as a longshot candidate since she was from Howard County and running in a district where Baltimore voters had a significant registration advantage.[14] During the election, she raised just under $50,000 in contributions and spent less than $10,000.[15]
Hill was defeated in the election by former U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume, placing fourth with 7.4 percent of the vote.[16] She was the top vote-getter in Howard County.[17] Following her defeat, Hill said that she would not run in the overlapping regular 2020 primary election for the same congressional seat.[18]
In November 2023, after John Sarbanes announced that he would not seek re-election in 2024, Hill told The Capital that she would run for Congress in Maryland's 3rd congressional district.[19] She was defeated in the Democratic primary election by state senator Sarah Elfreth on May 14, 2024, placing fourth with 6.5 percent of the vote.[20]
During the 2018 legislative session, Hill introduced legislation that would ban tackle football and other contact sports in elementary and middle schools, citing health risks associated with playing the sports.[21] The bill received an unfavorable report in the House Ways and Means Committee.[22]
In 2019, Hill introduced legislation requiring the Howard County Board of Education to submit annual reports on the rates of children who are "limited English proficient" or enrolled in free or reduced school lunches, and release plans on how the school board intends to reduce disparities in schools. She also supported legislation that would require the school board to notify homeowners of redistricting.[23]
During the 2019 legislative session, Hill introduced legislation to allow the Howard County Council to impose a tax on plastic bags.[24] After the bill passed and became law, the county council introduced a bill imposing a 5-cent fee on disposable plastic bags, which passed and was signed into law by County Executive Calvin Ball III.[25]
In 2021, Hill introduced legislation that would prohibit homeowner associations from requiring residents to plant turf grass on their property. The bill passed and became law.[26]
During her 2014 House of Delegates campaign, Hill said that she would help make the Affordable Care Act a more effective law.[27]
In 2015, Hill introduced legislation that would provide fertility treatment benefits, including in vitro fertilisation coverage, to married lesbian couples.[28]
In January 2018, Hill expressed concerns with legislation to establish a prescription monitoring program for law enforcement, saying that she thought the bill would have a "chilling effect on doctors" and lead them to under-prescribe.[29]
During the 2019 legislative session, Hill introduced legislation that would allow medical professionals to prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis, an HIV-prevention strategy, to minors, which passed and became law.[30]
During the 2024 legislative session, Hill supported a bill to legalize medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients.
During the 2024 legislative session, Hill supported a resolution calling for an immediate and long–term ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war alongside the return of all hostages and delivery of adequate humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.[31] AIPAC later stated that Hill's and labor lawyer John Morse's stance on Gaza led the lobbying group to spend over $4 million supporting state senator Sarah Elfreth's 2024 congressional campaign.[32]
In September 2017, following the Unite the Right rally, Hill participated in a rally denouncing hate groups and white supremacy in Catonsville.[33] In October 2020, she called for the removal of a mural at the Catonsville Post Office that depicted slavery.[34]
During the 2021 legislative session, Hill introduced a bill to repeal and replace "Maryland, My Maryland" as the state's official anthem.[35]
During the 2023 legislative session, Hill introduced legislation that would prevent Maryland from aiding other states' criminal investigations into patients and providers who receive health care services in the state. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore.[36]
During the 2024 legislative session, Hill supported bills to regulate artificial intelligence programs.
Hill is a member of the St. Bernardine Catholic Church in Baltimore.