Amendment 5 proposes a constitutional change that freezes the current tax structure. I don’t think the Legislature has created a tax structure over the last 40 years that is so perfect that it should never be changed. I served in the Legislature for 10 of those years and I can tell you, we were not perfect. I will vote no on Amendment 5.

At first glance Amendment 5 looks good. It appears to make it hard for the Legislature to raise new fees or taxes. Why not keep the Legislature from raising taxes? Because the actual impact is much more profound: Amendment 5 prevents future leaders from fixing the unfair and illogical parts of the tax structure.

The amendment proposes that the Legislature cannot increase or create new revenue, taxes, fees or abolish tax breaks without a two-thirds vote of the membership of both houses. That’s a very high bar — higher than a veto override (two-thirds those voting) and higher than proposing a constitutional amendment (three-fifths of the membership).

In short, it would be nearly impossible to create new revenue, taxes or fees. This proposal enshrines those limitations in the constitution. It basically carves in stone the current tax structure.

The practical implication is to prevent any tax reform without a supermajority vote. A future legislature could not decrease some taxes and increase others in one reform bill.

What if you wanted to lower the sales tax rate for everyone by eliminating some of the tax breaks and thereby make the overall budget the same? Eliminating those tax breaks would require a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate — which is highly unlikely. The amendment prevents future legislatures from building a tax structure appropriate for the Florida of the future.

A critical flaw is that the amendment not only prevents raising new taxes but also from abolishing old exemptions. Eliminating any tax exemption is defined as a tax increase. We currently have a complex labyrinth of tax exemptions because they were created over our long history.

Some of those specific exemptions were created at the behest of powerful interests. Some seem downright silly. They are certainly not logically consistent. Here are some examples:

— Chocolate and peanuts are both tax exempt. But chocolate covered peanuts are taxed.

— Why is ice cream that is sold in containers smaller than a pint taxed while anything larger than a pint is tax exempt?

— Why is there sales tax on a boat that sells for $18,000 and no sales tax on a boat that sells for $500,000 or $1,000,000? A tax break for yachts?

Amendment 5 basically prevents eliminating any of the hundreds of exemptions. Keep in mind that every exemption that does not apply to you means that your share of the overall budget increases. If its not your tax break then you are paying for it.

The questions you must ask yourself are: Do you trust that past legislatures were infallible in our definition of the tax code? Or, do you believe that the next generation of legislators may have a better vision in a new time and circumstance for Florida?

Amendment 5 would make it an uphill battle to reform the tax code for all of the future legislators. We know that the Legislature has been wrong before. Just in 2016, the Legislature made feminine hygiene products tax exempt. That would have required a two-thirds vote in a separate bill. They had previously been categorized as personal hygiene products — which are subject to taxation — but are now in the same category as bandages and health related products — which are tax exempt.

I truly believe future legislatures could reach a logical bipartisan majority on a better, rational tax structure without being shackled by insurmountable requirement of two-thirds vote of the membership. Believe it or not, I have witnessed bipartisan cooperation from time to time and I think it can happen again in the future. Honest, tough decisions can make a system that’s fairer for everyone — particularly for citizens who do not have their own tax breaks.

Amendment 5 would prevent future legislatures from making these decisions. Don’t hamstring the future and future legislators. The next generation will be able to create a better tax structure for the future than those of us who were in the Legislature over the last 40 years. I trust our future.

Jon Mills is former speaker of the Florida House and dean emeritus and professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.