Moving objects between applications has no effect on any objects that are in use. However, if you choose to delete an object, you really will be deleting it from the system, and a dialog will ask you to confirm your decision, even if the object is not in use.
Similarly, if you import a new version of a state table when that state table is already running (and so is already cached), the running state table is not changed. The new version is used next time you start the application.