The governor of Minnesota has signed a new budget, ending the state's crippling 20-day government shutdown — one of the longest in recent U.S. history.

Democratic Governor Mark Dayton signed the spending bills Wednesday just hours after lawmakers approved them.

The Republican-controlled legislature met in a special session to approve the last of 12 measures needed to end the impasse.

The shutdown began on July 1, when lawmakers failed to agree on a budget after arguing over taxes and spending.

The standoff led to the shutdown of state parks, halted construction projects and ordinary state business, and idled more than than 22,000 state workers.

State employees were expected back at work by Thursday.

Governor Dayton and Republican lawmakers announced last week they had reached an agreement on the budget.

Under the deal, the governor agreed to abandon his efforts to raise income taxes on wealthy Minnesotans. For their part, Republicans dropped demands on issues such as restricting public funding for stem cell research, while agreeing to raise millions of dollars in bond sales to fund public works.