INDIANAPOLIS | Schererville developers may have to make due with fewer than the 10 new liquor licenses they've been pining for, a key lawmaker said Monday.

Legislation to circumvent the state's decennial permit-creation process and grant new liquor licenses for Carmel, Clarksville, Mishawaka and Schererville easily cleared the House last month. It hasn't moved since.

"That bill is not going to get a (Senate) hearing," said state Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland. "However, it's not because they don't want the bill."

The liquor legislation, House Bill 1392, was assigned to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Public Policy and Interstate Cooperation. But Chairman Marvin Riegsecker, R-Goshen, has been absent the past two weeks following kidney surgery.

Lawmakers have agreed to amend the liquor-license effort into related legislation, Senate Bill 339. But House Public Policy Chairman Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, said the number of new Schererville licenses might decline when his committee takes up the measure Wednesday.

"I may not be able to do all 10," he said.

Asked if town officials could expect a six-pack of new liquor permits, Van Haaften said the number probably would be closer to 10, but he didn't reveal an exact number.

Established Schererville restaurateurs have complained that legislators are crafting sweetheart deals for a pair of big-time developers promising new shopping malls on the north side of town. Typically, the state only awards new liquor licenses every 10 years based on a community's population growth.

A stalled effort to bring new liquor licenses to Schererville will be revived Wednesday. But the town might not get the full 10 permits it has requested.