Air bag light on?

A couple of weeks ago my air bag light started to go on. It would only do it sometimes so i didn't think too much of it. Now it is doing it pretty much all the time. What would be causing it to go on and would the air bags still function. I have a drivers side along with a passengers side air bag and i was wondering if at least one would work if the problem is with the other one. How much would this cost to fix (just ball park). My uncle had a problem with his airbag on his 95 silverado and it was the plate in the steering column that was warn out. thanks guys

Air Bags Will Not Function With The Lite On, This Needs To Be Scanned For Sirs Codes With An Air Bag Functional Scanner.

Can autozone scan this or would i have to take it into the dealership? thanks

No good at AZ. dealership is one option or a well equipped shop with a Snap On mt2500 or equivalent.