House committee advances bill to enable P3 development at Burnside Island State Park

The House Standing Committee on Economic Development and Workforce Investment on Wednesday passed House Bill 808 as amended, advancing a measure that would authorize a public-private partnership (P3) to develop lodging and visitor amenities at Burnside Island State Park.

Representative Ken Upchurch, sponsor of HB 808, told the committee the bill "is a culmination of a lot of work over several years, beginning locally, with Burnside, Pulaski County, and a lot of the coalition down there, called Dream Big Burnside," and described the proposal as intended to make Burnside Island "a tourist destination, as opposed to what we now have." He asked the committee to approve the bill as amended by the committee sub; the committee then voted to pass the bill with a favorable expression.

Why it matters: Proponents said the project would attract lodging and restaurants to the park, with the goal of boosting local tourism and economic activity around Lake Cumberland. Upchurch and two guests who identified themselves as counsel to the local coalition described the site as "a diamond in the rough" that could benefit from private development under a P3 structure.

Committee discussion and record: The bill was presented at the committee table by Upchurch and two guests, Steve Robertson of the law firm Frost Brown Todd and Jason Halligan, whom Upchurch identified as legal counsel to Dream Big Burnside. The committee packet included a fiscal note, which Upchurch noted at the start of the presentation. After a motion on the bill as amended by the committee sub and a second, the clerk called the roll and the committee chair announced that HB 808 "as amended by the House Committee sub 1 passes with favorable expression."

Public testimony and detail: The transcript records presentation-level remarks from the sponsor and his guests describing the local coalition's work and the intended outcome—lodging, restaurants and other visitor amenities. The bill text was discussed only at a high level in the hearing; the transcript does not record the bill's precise statutory mechanism or specific financial terms beyond a reference to a fiscal note in the committee packet.

Votes at a glance: The committee passed HB 808 as amended by House Committee Sub 1 by roll-call vote; the committee chair announced the bill passed with a favorable expression. The transcript records multiple affirmative votes during the roll call; individual vote tallies beyond the chair's announcement are recorded in the committee transcript.

Looking ahead: The committee advanced the bill out of committee; the transcript does not record later steps, implementation details, or any required approvals beyond the committee action.