Some states are likely to conform to the federal legislation.
The downside to this conversion is that you will have to include the value of the converted IRA assets in income for the year of conversion. If your traditional IRA is converted to a Roth IRA in 1998, however, you may take advantage of a special one time rule. If the conversion occurs in 1998, the amount required to be included in gross income will be spread ratably over four years beginning with the 1998 tax year, unless you elect to have all of the income included in the 1998 tax year. There is no limit on the amount converted - it could be millions. AGI for this purpose generally means the amount you report on line 32 of your Form 1040, personal income tax return.