Florida's 'Sevilla's Law' Dies Again

We read the Florida Senate’s own bill record, and here is what it says.

Senate Bill 58, named “Sevilla’s Law,” was filed for the 2026 session by Senator Gayle Harrell, with Senator Arrington as co-introducer. On November 18, 2025, the Agriculture Committee voted it through favorably, 5 Yeas to 0 Nays. Then it stalled. The bill carried two more committee references, Judiciary and Fiscal Policy, and never cleared them. The Senate’s page records the last action plainly: “3/13/2026 Senate - Died in Judiciary.” No House companion bill was filed.

What the bill would have done is modest and practical. It would have required companion-animal cremation providers to give pet owners a written description of the services offered, included a certification with returned cremation remains, and created civil penalties for violations. In other words: a receipt and a signed assurance that the ashes you get back are your pet’s. That is the step most owners assume already exists and, in Florida, does not.

By independent reporting, a similar bill has been considered and declined in Tallahassee every year since at least 2020. The bill is named for a cat whose family says they were promised a private cremation and a chance to say goodbye, then received ashes that later testing did not confirm were hers — a University of Florida analysis reported finding human DNA.

We flag this not as advocacy but as a clarity warning. Until something passes, Florida has no pet-cremation-specific consumer statute. The written service description and the certificate with the ashes (the paperwork SB 58 would have made standard) are, for now, on you to ask for. If you are arranging a cremation in Florida, request both in writing before you hand your pet over.