California lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session this weekend, and one of the many bills left on the table was an incentives package aimed at convincing Tesla motors to build its $5 billion battery “Gigafactory” in the Golden State.

The Tesla gigafactory would bring an estimated 6500 jobs to whichever state was lucky enough the snare it. According to a Tesla spokesperson, the top candidates as of last month were Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California, USA Today reports.

Already the home of a Tesla car manufacturing site, California seemed like a natural fit for the battery plant. Governor Jerry Brown and state Senator Ted Gaines (R-Roseville) put together a package of measures that streamlined compliance with the state’s Environmental Quality Act and offered tax credits in order to seal the deal. But state legislators failed to agree on the deal’s final terms, and the package was never even brought up for a vote.

Budget watchdog groups were concerned about a “race to the bottom” that the competition between states to secure the factory might provoke. Five groups from the relevant states – Arizona PIRG, the California Budget Project, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), New Mexico’s SouthWest Organizing Project, Texans for Public Justice  and Good Jobs – signed an open letter expressing these concerns.

“Overspending on Tesla – or any other company – could be a net-loss game in which fewer public resources are then available for investments in areas that benefit all employers, such as education and training, efficient infrastructure, and public safety,” said the letter.

Gov. Brown’s office, meanwhile, vowed to continue to woo Tesla.

“The Administration continues to engage in productive conversations with Tesla and remains optimistic that we can reach an agreement that meets our common goal of adding jobs in California,” senior advisor the Governor, Mike Rossi, said in a statement.