Guess I should have mentioned that. A lot of people this side of the Pond don't realize that in the U.S. each state, county, and in many cases city has much more self-government over its own affairs than in Europe, where the tendency is for far more things to be centralized.
Just look at everyday things as examples: 51 different jurisdictions for car license plates and driver licenses, sales tax percentages which can vary from state to state, county to county, and town to town, clearly defined jurisdictions of city police, county sheriff, state police, etc.