My Air Bag light stays on on my 1996 Grand AM GT, I like some information on what and how to check to see if it is an easy repair, or will I get soaked by the local mechanic

If I remember correctly you can have the car checked by having the OBDII checked it should tell you which of the airbag sensors is bad. There are 3 sensors on the system if one is bad then the airbags are inop. as long as the airbag light is on your bags are not going to deploy, be careful until you can get it looked at. I am not sure how much the sensor cost. Maybe someone else on the forum can help with that.
Good luck.