ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Mark Dayton has signed a bill giving tens of thousands of state employees a 2 percent raise.

Dayton signed the bill on Tuesday. It earlier passed both the House and Senate, both controlled by Democrats.

The contract includes the first raise in more than three years. It covers about 35,000 employees from seven different working groups, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees.

The new deal will expire June 30. Dayton says he will push to include same-sex domestic partnership benefits in the next contract.

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