January 13, 2026
Correct the PA-490 Land Tax Increases
To the Connecticut General Assembly and the state officials responsible for land use, taxation, and agricultural policy,
This petition is submitted by Connecticut farmers, landowners, and residents across the political spectrum. It is not a partisan statement. It is a demand for immediate correction of a policy failure that has caused widespread and measurable harm.
In 2025, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and Office of OPM reassessed taxable land values under PA-490 that altered farmland assessments and associated tax. The impact of these changes has been swift and severe. In many cases, farmland valuations and property tax liabilities have increased two, three, or even fourfold within a single assessment cycle. These increases are not marginal adjustments. They represent a structural shock to landowners who rely on predictable, stable assessments to maintain agricultural operations and long-term land stewardship.
This outcome cannot be dismissed as a normal reassessment or a routine recalibration of values. The magnitude and immediacy of the increases demonstrate a failure of implementation, oversight, and impact analysis. Land-use and tax policy should never impose sudden valuation spikes of this scale without phased adoption, meaningful safeguards, or a built-in mechanism for rapid correction once harm becomes evident.
The consequences are already being felt. Farmers and landowners are receiving tax bills based on inflated assessments that bear little relationship to agricultural income, land productivity, or the economic realities of working farmland. These impacts are occurring now. They are not hypothetical, and they are not limited to a future assessment cycle.
Telling those affected to wait years for reassessment or future legislative adjustment does not mitigate the damage. It prolongs it.
Proposals that focus solely on preventing similar outcomes in future cycles, while leaving current landowners to absorb the consequences of the 2025 changes, are insufficient. This is not only a question of improving policy design going forward. It is a question of correcting an error that has already occurred and is actively undermining farmland viability throughout the state.
There is no legal or procedural barrier preventing the General Assembly from acting immediately. The Legislature retains the authority to amend or suspend the affected provisions, mandate corrective reassessment, apply retroactive relief, or enact emergency measures where warranted. Delaying action is a policy choice, not a legal necessity.
Connecticut has long stated its commitment to farmland preservation, agricultural sustainability, and responsible land stewardship. Those commitments are incompatible with a system that makes farmland financially unsustainable through abrupt and disproportionate tax increases. Policies that force landowners toward sale, subdivision, or abandonment undermine preservation goals regardless of political affiliation.
This petition is therefore a call for immediate, corrective action, not future promises. The harm has already occurred. It must be addressed now.
Accordingly, we demand the following:
This petition is not rooted in party politics. It reflects a shared concern for fairness, stability, and the long-term viability of Connecticut’s farmland. When legislation produces outcomes that are clearly damaging and unsustainable, responsible governance requires timely correction.
This petition is submitted by Connecticut farmers, landowners, and residents across the political spectrum. It is not a partisan statement. It is a demand for immediate correction of a policy failure that has caused widespread and measurable harm.
In 2025, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and Office of OPM reassessed taxable land values under PA-490 that altered farmland assessments and associated tax. The impact of these changes has been swift and severe. In many cases, farmland valuations and property tax liabilities have increased two, three, or even fourfold within a single assessment cycle. These increases are not marginal adjustments. They represent a structural shock to landowners who rely on predictable, stable assessments to maintain agricultural operations and long-term land stewardship.
This outcome cannot be dismissed as a normal reassessment or a routine recalibration of values. The magnitude and immediacy of the increases demonstrate a failure of implementation, oversight, and impact analysis. Land-use and tax policy should never impose sudden valuation spikes of this scale without phased adoption, meaningful safeguards, or a built-in mechanism for rapid correction once harm becomes evident.
The consequences are already being felt. Farmers and landowners are receiving tax bills based on inflated assessments that bear little relationship to agricultural income, land productivity, or the economic realities of working farmland. These impacts are occurring now. They are not hypothetical, and they are not limited to a future assessment cycle.
Telling those affected to wait years for reassessment or future legislative adjustment does not mitigate the damage. It prolongs it.
Proposals that focus solely on preventing similar outcomes in future cycles, while leaving current landowners to absorb the consequences of the 2025 changes, are insufficient. This is not only a question of improving policy design going forward. It is a question of correcting an error that has already occurred and is actively undermining farmland viability throughout the state.
There is no legal or procedural barrier preventing the General Assembly from acting immediately. The Legislature retains the authority to amend or suspend the affected provisions, mandate corrective reassessment, apply retroactive relief, or enact emergency measures where warranted. Delaying action is a policy choice, not a legal necessity.
Connecticut has long stated its commitment to farmland preservation, agricultural sustainability, and responsible land stewardship. Those commitments are incompatible with a system that makes farmland financially unsustainable through abrupt and disproportionate tax increases. Policies that force landowners toward sale, subdivision, or abandonment undermine preservation goals regardless of political affiliation.
This petition is therefore a call for immediate, corrective action, not future promises. The harm has already occurred. It must be addressed now.
Accordingly, we demand the following:
- Immediate legislative amendment or suspension of the 2025 PA-490 related changes that caused extreme and abrupt farmland assessment increases
- Retroactive correction of inflated farmland valuations and resulting tax liabilities already imposed
- Immediate relief mechanisms, including reassessment adjustments or abatements, for affected landowners
- Statutory safeguards to prevent future assessment cycles from producing similar valuation shocks
- Public acknowledgment that the 2025 changes caused material harm and require prompt correction
This petition is not rooted in party politics. It reflects a shared concern for fairness, stability, and the long-term viability of Connecticut’s farmland. When legislation produces outcomes that are clearly damaging and unsustainable, responsible governance requires timely correction.
