The National Federation of Independent Business has launched a statewide radio, newspaper, and digital advertising campaign in Virginia targeting three categories of legislation moving through the 2026 General Assembly session: bills that would repeal the state’s right-to-work law, expand a carbon allowance trading program that would raise electricity costs, and impose new one-size-fits-all workplace mandates on employers. The campaign directs business owners and community members to ProtectVirginiaSmallBusiness.org, where visitors can review the targeted legislation and contact their legislators directly.

Virginia is home to more than 880,000 small businesses, and NFIB State Director Julia Hammond framed the campaign as a direct response to what the organization describes as a convergence of cost-raising proposals arriving at a moment of existing economic pressure on small employers. The ad push – spanning radio spots, print placements, and digital channels – is the group’s most visible in-state effort during the current session.

What the Virginia Bills Would Do for Employers and Energy Consumers

The energy-related legislation under debate would expand an existing carbon trading program for power generation, requiring electricity producers to purchase carbon allowances through state-run auctions. NFIB’s position is that the added compliance costs producers incur at auction would not be absorbed within the generation sector – they would be passed through to ratepayers in the form of higher electricity bills, reaching restaurants, manufacturers, farms, and other energy-dependent small businesses at the end of the supply chain.

On labor law, the proposed legislation would repeal Virginia’s right-to-work statute, which currently prohibits requiring workers to join a union or pay union fees as a condition of employment. NFIB argues that repeal would reduce flexibility for both employers and employees and could discourage job creation, particularly among smaller firms that lack the human resources infrastructure to manage the additional labor relations complexity that union shop arrangements can introduce.

The third category covers workplace mandates the group characterizes as one-size-fits-all rules – regulations that apply uniform compliance standards regardless of firm size or industry context. NFIB warns these measures increase paperwork burdens, raise legal exposure, and generate compliance costs that scale disproportionately for small employers. A separate Virginia legislative development – a proposed paid leave bill that would provide workers twelve weeks at 80 percent pay – illustrates the category of mandate NFIB has been tracking across multiple General Assembly sessions.

Why NFIB Says These Bills Threaten Virginia’s Small Business Climate

NFIB’s core structural argument is that small businesses cannot absorb new regulatory costs the way larger competitors can. A regional chain or national franchise can spread compliance expenses across hundreds of locations and dedicated legal and HR departments; a ten-person employer faces the same rule with a fraction of the administrative capacity and no margin to redistribute costs across a broader revenue base.

Hammond made that argument explicit in announcing the campaign, pointing to the combination of existing inflationary pressure and the proposed legislative changes as compounding threats rather than isolated policy questions. NFIB’s own small business optimism tracking has consistently reflected elevated concern about input costs and economic uncertainty – conditions the group argues make the current legislative environment particularly consequential for independent employers.

“Small businesses are already dealing with high prices and economic uncertainty. Now, lawmakers are debating proposals that would raise costs, limit flexibility, and make it harder for Main Street businesses to survive and grow. This campaign is about reminding legislators that their decisions have real consequences for local employers and the communities they serve.”

– Julia Hammond, NFIB State Director for Virginia

The campaign is structured to generate direct constituent pressure on legislators, not simply to raise awareness. By routing participants through ProtectVirginiaSmallBusiness.org to contact their representatives, NFIB is attempting to convert advertising reach into measurable legislative engagement – a model the organization has used in prior Virginia sessions, including a 2025 digital campaign that the group reported generated 3 million ad impressions statewide.

What the Bills Would Mean for Virginia Small Businesses in Practice

For an energy-intensive small business – a commercial bakery, a dry cleaner, or a small manufacturer running production equipment across multiple shifts – higher electricity rates translate directly into operating cost increases that arrive monthly and cannot easily be deferred. NFIB argues the carbon allowance pass-through mechanism means these businesses would bear costs generated by a trading program they have no direct role in, with no structural ability to hedge or offset the exposure the way a large industrial energy user might through long-term supply contracts.

For a small employer navigating a right-to-work repeal, the immediate practical effect would depend on whether unionization efforts materialized in their workplace – but NFIB contends the indirect effect on hiring decisions would be felt before any organizing drive begins. Employers uncertain about the future labor relations environment may delay adding headcount or restructure hours to limit full-time exposure, outcomes the group describes as a drag on job creation concentrated among firms with fewer than 20 employees.

For the workplace mandate category, the compliance burden takes the form of additional recordkeeping requirements, new notice obligations, and potential legal liability for procedural violations – costs that a small employer without dedicated HR staff must either absorb through owner time or outsource. NFIB has previously warned that mandates in this category expose small firms to litigation risk disproportionate to their size, forcing difficult decisions about staffing levels and operational structure.

Where the Virginia Bills Stand and What Comes Next

All three bill categories remain active in the 2026 General Assembly session, moving through committee and floor processes as NFIB’s campaign runs concurrently. The group has not published specific bill numbers for each targeted measure in its public campaign materials, but Hammond has confirmed the advertising is timed to coincide with active legislative deliberation in Richmond. Governor Glenn Youngkin, who has previously received NFIB pressure to veto legislation the group characterized as harmful to small firms, remains a backstop if the targeted bills advance to his desk.

  • Carbon allowance expansion – Whether the energy bills advance out of committee without amendment is the first indicator of whether legislative support holds under advocacy pressure; floor vote scheduling will be the next milestone.
  • Right-to-work repeal – Committee votes on any bill modifying Virginia’s existing statute will signal whether repeal has sufficient support to reach a floor debate, or whether the proposal stalls in committee as it has in prior sessions.
  • Workplace mandates – Movement on individual mandate bills – including any paid leave or liability measures – will determine whether NFIB expands its direct member lobbying effort beyond the current advertising campaign.
  • Gubernatorial action – Any bills reaching Governor Youngkin’s desk will trigger a second round of NFIB pressure, consistent with the organization’s established pattern of urging vetoes on legislation it opposes.

If the volume of constituent outreach generated through ProtectVirginiaSmallBusiness.org proves measurable to legislators’ offices, committee amendments or procedural delays would be the earliest visible signs of traction, making committee markups the most immediate milestones for small business owners following the session.