Ridley v. State

In Ridley v. State, 702 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997), the court noted that when the legislature amends a statute by omitting words or reference to a statute, the general rule of construction is to presume that the legislature intended the statute to have a different meaning. The court concluded that by eliminating the reference to the habitual offender statute when amending section 812.014, the legislature clearly intended to eliminate that sentencing option for felony petit theft.