[3] In 1990 Hill ran in a special election for the 31st State Senate district left open when Republican Bill Campbell resigned to become President of California Manufacturers Association.

[4] In a bitter, hard fought primary Hill narrowly defeated fellow assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), Brea councilman Ron Isles and Diamond Bar councilman Gary Miller,[5] then went on to easily hold the heavily Republican seat in the runoff.

[6] In 1994, Hill was convicted of taking $2,500 from an undercover FBI agent for help with legislation about a bogus shrimp processing plant dubbed "shrimpgate" and "shrimpscam", in what was part of the BRISPEC sting operation.

[7][8] The sting also brought down other elected officials: state senators Paul B. Carpenter (D-Cerritos), Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys), Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier) and assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale).

[10] In August 2020, Hill was served a search warrant and his home in Whittier was raided in connection with a corruption probe into a failed solar project that cost the City of Industry $20 million and left taxpayers with nothing to show for.