A bill to give New Jersey counties the authority to establish a central municipal drug court passed the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee on Thursday in Trenton, but not without requests by the committee chairman to tweak the measure further.

Sponsors say A-5234 will help alleviate the backlog of minor drug offenses in the state’s court system by providing an alternative method for trying such cases and sentencing offenders, including juveniles. They say it may even help reduce repeat offenses and lower court costs.