AOTA is reorganized under new bylaws, changing the Delegate Assembly to a membership-driven legislative body renamed the Representative Assembly (RA). The RA gives COTAs full AOTA voting rights and enables a COTA to be elected to AOTA’s Executive Board.  The Association establishes the American Student Committee of the Occupational Therapy Association (ASCOTA) as a named committee under the RA. The American Occupational Therapy Political Action Committee (AOTPAC) is established and officially launches in 1978. One of AOTPAC’s purposes is “to encourage the candidacy and election of qualified national office holders, regardless of party affiliation, in order to promote decision-making responsive to public need for health care and services, especially as pertaining to occupational therapy services.”