NASHVILLE (AP) - A proposal to impose limits on how many liquor stores can be owned in Tennessee has been sent back to a House subcommittee.

The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville has pitted Republicans against each other over questions about why package stores should be given special protection from competition by big chains.

The measure, which has already passed the Senate, had been on the verge of a full floor vote. But the House Calendar Committee voted Thursday to return the bill to the House Finance Subcommittee - a panel that had been unusually bypassed earlier this session.

Todd, a close ally of the liquor wholesalers and retailers lobby, insisted that the move isn't intended to kill the bill.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam opposes the cap.