Final answer:
There are many rules in parliamentary procedure to ensure orderly debate, protect minority rights, ensure fairness, and avoid rash decisions. These rules, including supermajority requirements like the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, increase the complexity of the legislative process and reflect the balance of power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Parliamentary procedure involves complex rules and regulations to ensure orderly discussion, protect the rights of minority voices, maintain fairness, and focus legislative members on one issue at a time. The procedures, such as those detailed in Robert's Rules of Order and institutional rules in the United States Senate and House, serve multiple functions. They allow for public debate, empower bodies to censure or expel members for misconduct, and establish supermajority requirements for critical decisions, as seen with the filibuster and cloture in the Senate.
Political leadership, particularly within the House, uses special rules to steer legislation towards particular outcomes, reflecting the influence of heightened partisanship. Supermajority requirements, such as the de facto supermajority due to the filibuster, often exist to provide a check against hasty decision-making, particularly when long-lasting consequences are at stake. Election rules can also influence the legislative process by making it difficult for third parties to introduce bills, thus concentrating power within the major parties.