Sometimes the states negotiate under the provisions of a national law. The interstate compact on low level radioactive waste that led to the tentative selection of Riga Township for a possible site for disposal was in this category. Because Michigan failed to find a site, it was expelled and the responsibility now belongs to Ohio. Another example of an interstate treaty is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The relationship between the state and local government is not a true example of federalism.
States have total authority to create, modify and abolish counties and municipalities.
As a means of emphasizing the word to mean the relationship, for the ten weeks of the term, use the word federal exclusively for the system, not for the government in Washington. Refer to that as the national government or as US for an adjective.