Database states will be created by FME only when updating/inserting/deleting from a versioned table/feature class. Therefore, only the SDE writer or an SDE30QueryFactory in DELETE or UPDATE mode is able to create a database state.
The SDE reader and the SDE30QueryFactory in QUERY mode will never create a database state. All changes made during a single translation to a specific version (on the same SDE), even if they were made by different SDE30QueryFactories or different SDE writers, are placed into one (and the same) child state. Versioning must be used when updating/inserting/deleting from a versioned table/feature class. If versioning is not used in these cases, than an “Insufficient permissions” error will be generated and the translation stopped.
Note: Versioning is not currently supported for raster data.