The Joint Subcommittee Studying Compensation for Byssinosis Victims was established pursuant to House Joint Resolution No. 245 of the 1981 General Assembly.

Delegate Lewis P. Fickett, Jr., of Fredericksburg, chief patron of House Joint Resolution No. 245, served as Chairman of the Subcommittee. Other members of the House of Delegates who served on the Subcommittee were Warren G. Stambaugh of Arlington, Claude V. Swanson of Gretna, Franklin P. Hall of Richmond and Robert S. Bloxom of Mappsville.

Senator Elmon T. Gray of Waverly served as Vice-Chairman of the Subcommittee. Other Senate members who served were Charles J. Colgan of Manassas and Frank W. Nolen of New Hope.

C. William Cramme', III, and Hugh P. Fisher, III, of the Division of Legislative Services served as legal and research staff for the Subcommittee. Administrative and clerical services for the Subcommittee were performed by the Clerk's Office of the House of Delegates.

The subcommittee held meetings on June 10, July 13, July 14, August 26 and November 9, 1981. During its meetings the Subcommittee heard a great deal of oral testimony. The study group also received voluminous amounts of written materials during and between meetings.

Prior to the Subcommittee's first meeting, its staff furnished each member with a copy of a staff report which discussed the following areas: (1) the authority for the Subcommittee's study; (2) suggested objectives; (3) a tentative schedule for the study group to follow; ( 4) a thorough discussion of certain medical, diagnostic and legal aspects of the byssinosis issue; and (5) resources available to the Subcommittee.

A copy of the staff's initial report, minus the report's lengthy appendices, is attached as Appendix I of this report.

The Subcommittee's first meeting, which was held on June 10, was mainly an organizational meeting in which the study group elected its Chairman and Vice-Chairman and adopted a timetable for the study. During the meeting the Subcommittee heard testimony from Mr. Robert P. Joyner of the Virginia Industrial Commission, Mr. Julian Carper of the State AFL-CIO, and Ms. Elizabeth Scott of the Virginia Brown Lung Association. Also, the study group decided that during the study it should focus its attention on the following issues:

(1) Whether there should be changes in the way that medical evidence is furnished the Industrial Commission in byssinosis cases (i.e., whether a medical advisory committee should be established in Virginia);

(2) Possible changes to the occupational disease statute of limitations (Virginia Code § 65.1-52);

(3) Possible changes to the Code's waiver provision (§ 65.1-53);

(4) Possible changes to the burden of proof which the Industrial Commission requires a byssinotic claimant to carry; and

(5) Whether byssinosis should be removed from paragraph (20) of Code § 65.1-56, which classifies byssinosis as a pneumoconioses.