Sens. Harding, Somers and Gordon Pledge Continued Fight to Protect Connecticut Farmers from Tax Hikes

September 10, 2026

Sen. Stephen Harding, Sen. Heather Somers and Sen. Jeff Gordon today pledged to continue standing with Connecticut farmers by reviewing and potentially passing into law the recommendations of the Public Act 490 Working Group.

Earlier this year, Connecticut farmers faced major tax increases following changes to how farmland is assessed. The valuation for Connecticut swamp land, for example, went from $40 an acre to $970 an acre.

The Working Group, which Sens. Harding, Somers and Gordon lawmakers fought to create, has offered recommendations to improve data collection, review, and valuation processes. Public Act 490 is Connecticut’s farmland preservation law which provides for farmland, forest land, and open space to be assessed for property tax purposes based on current use value rather than fair market value. The law’s purpose is to prevent the taxation of farmland at rates that would compel its conversion to non-agricultural use.

“Connecticut farmers were facing outrageous property tax increases,” Sen. Harding said. “Senate Republicans stood with farmers to demand action by the governor. We pushed for the working group’s creation. These recommendations have the potential to save many farms and preserve Connecticut’s agricultural industry.”

“Our message is simple: We continue to have Connecticut farmers’ backs,” Sen. Somers said. “State policies should help, not hurt, the people who put food on our tables. Farmers deserve a voice in this process. We helped to give them a voice, and our advocacy will continue.”

“This situation was absolutely unacceptable,” said State Senator Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock), a Co-Chair of the legislature’s Rural Caucus who also is a member of the Connecticut Farm Bureau. “Swamp land cannot be used for any meaningful purpose, yet, the state was about to hike up its value by about 2,400%? Ridiculous! We Republicans called it out. We fought side by side with farmers. We noted that at a time when Connecticut is already facing an affordability crisis, this Public Act 490 mess by the state government would make it even harder for our farmers to stay afloat. We demanded that farmers get a fair deal and a seat at the table in these discussions. To address this potential disaster for farmers and our communities, I worked quickly and collaboratively with the Department of Agriculture, the Office of Police and Management, the Connecticut Farm Bureau, and others to get state government to own up to this big mistake. As I review the Working Group’s recommendations, I will remain vigilant in order to ensure clarity, predictability, and affordability for Connecticut farmers going forward.”

Sen. Gordon continued, “Along with Sens. Harding and Somers, we are also calling on the legislature to create a dedicated Agriculture Committee that focuses solely on the issues facing Connecticut’s farmers and agricultural community. Agriculture is too important to our state’s economy, our rural communities, our food supply, and our way of life to not have a legislative committee dedicated to it. In the next legislative session, we intend to push for the creation of this committee so we can act on the PA 490 Working Group’s recommendations and develop thoughtful, long-term policies that help Connecticut agriculture survive and thrive.”