State legislators operate daily within a federal system that shapes budgets, regulatory authority, program design, and accountability—but those federal dynamics are often implicit rather than explicit. This training equips legislators and staff with a clear, constitutional understanding of how authority is divided between national and state governments (federalism) and how governments actually interact through funding, regulation, and administration (intergovernmental relations). By clarifying both the rules of the system and how it functions in practice, the course strengthens legislative judgment, improves oversight of federal programs, and supports informed decision-making about when to cooperate, when to assert state authority, and how to pursue reform consistent with the Constitution.
